What a great time the Volunteer Appreciation event was! Thanks to those of you who joined us for the potluck dinner, socializing, making new friends and even a little trivia!
I wanted to follow up to thank you again for everything you do with and for Chatham Literacy. As I mentioned at the event, 100% of our service delivery is done by our volunteers…by YOU! It is because of all of you that Chatham Literacy exists and that we can help adults in our community to be successful and build better futures.
Last year, we served 149 adults with 55% of those individuals achieving at least one personal literacy-related goal:
– 10 became U.S. citizens.
– Nearly 40% of those who received a reading post-assessment improved their reading ability by at least one grade level.
– One adult learner, Suryah, went on Hajj and many of the visitors could not understand their tickets and directions (written in Arabic language) and the Hajj officials did not speak English. Suryah helped many by interpreting the door numbers from Arabic to English.
AND a big thank you for helping us serve 134 adults in the first five months of this fiscal year. We are well on our way to expanding services to those in need beyond what we did last year.
Volunteers are the heart of Chatham Literacy AND I am ever so grateful to you and for you!
All the best to you and yours this holiday season,
Vicki Newell, Executive Director