Deserved Recognition for ProLiteracy Founder

Daughters of the American Revolution Honor Ruth J. Colvin

Syracuse, NY
September 6, 2007

There’s no stopping Ruth Colvin when it involves an issue near and dear to her: adult literacy. And there’s no stopping the recognition she receives for contributions she’s made to that cause.

The latest organization to honor Colvin is the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), which will honor Colvin September 29 at its 111th State Conference in Syracuse. Colvin will be awarded the Community Service Award given “in recognition of outstanding contributions to the community through civic, benevolent, or heroic acts … the recipient must have outstanding voluntary service in cultural, educational, humanitarian, patriotic, historical, citizenship, environmental conservation, or organized community endeavors.”

Colvin founded Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA) in 1962 after learning over 11,000 of her fellow Syracuse residents were functioning at the lowest level of literacy. LVA became one of the founding organizations of ProLiteracy Worldwide and Ruth continues to be actively involved as a lifetime board member, tutor, and ambassador.

In December 2006, President Bush awarded Colvin with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which sparked the New York State DAR chapter to nominate her for DAR’s Community Service Award. Colvin has won the award at the state level and is now nominated at the national level.

About the Daughters of American Revolution
The DAR has 168,000 members in 3,000 chapters across the United States and internationally and is one of the most inclusive genealogical societies in the country, dating back to 1890. For more information: www.dar.org

About Ruth J. Colvin
For more on Colvin’s contribution to the issue of adult literacy: www.proliteracy.org/about/founders.asp