National Women’s Hall of Fame Presents
An Evening with Ruth J. Colvin
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Date/Time: Thursday, March 25, 2021, 6:30 p.m. ET
Cost: Suggested donation of $10 (to ProLiteracy Worldwide)
Enjoy an evening with Ruth J. Colvin, 1993 National Women’s Hall of Fame inductee.
March is Women’s History Month and we hope you’ll join us on Thursday, March 25th to celebrate our “shero”, Ruth Colvin, a matriarch of literacy-learning as well as the oldest living inductee in the National Women’s Hall of Fame.
Ruth Colvin is 104 years old and is still active as a volunteer tutor in the United States and around the globe. She continues to build on a vision that began in the early 1960’s after she saw US Census results for her hometown of Syracuse, New York. It was at that moment that she became aware of the more than 11,000 adults in her community that could not read well.
Inspired to make a difference, Ruth and her church’s women’s group began to tutor anyone in Syracuse who wanted to improve their reading and language skills. By 1967, she founded the nonprofit, Literacy Volunteers, Inc. In 2002 Literacy Volunteers, Inc. merged with Laubach Literacy International to become ProLiteracy Worldwide, the leading organization which backs 1000 member organizations in the United States and around the world; Chatham Literacy is one of those members.
In her recent memoir, My Travels Through Life, Love and Literacy she reflects, “As I shared my life experiences, I learned that seeds were planted all my life that made me the person I am. I learned from my mistakes – as well as from my successes – and some disasters were blessings in disguise. Look to your own early years, and you’ll learn more about yourself as I did about myself.”
“If she can do it, we can do it!” –Ruth herself quoting her inspired fans.
Sincere thanks for your foresight, Ruth and for paving a path for so many literacy organizations and programs to successfully make a difference in our communities.