The education provided by Chatham Literacy has a tremendous impact, on the lives of both our students and our tutors. Students gain new skills which help them in their careers, as a role model to their families, and as a member of our community. Tutors are moved and rewarded by seeing their students succeed in their studies and in life.
“Being a tutor has brought me a wonderful new friend from El Salvador, and it has given me the opportunity to watch her blossom as she explores a new country, a new language, and countless new experiences. My student has become a model to me of exemplary energy, planning, dedication, and passion involved in working toward what would have once been unimaginable goals.” – Anne Dobson
Our students include a wide variety of people – adults working on their high school equivalency diplomas, those who need stronger English-language skills to get a job or a promotion, and those who want to be able to do everyday things they have difficulty with now – like read to their children, communicate with their doctors, look up information on the internet, or fill out an application form.
If you enjoy working with people and can spare an hour or two of your time each week, you can make a huge difference in a neighbor’s life. You don’t need a teaching background or a foreign-language skill to become a tutor. We’ll provide the training.
Our tutors enjoy flexible schedules and can choose to volunteer for one-on-one sessions, small-group classes, or both. You can tutor on your time schedule and at a place that is convenient for you. Please visit our Tutor FAQ and Classes pages for more information. If you would like to tutor, download and completed our Volunteer Application Form.
Impact
Fiscal Year 2022 – 2023
- 151 adult learners engaged in tutoring services
- 54 tutors volunteered
- 4,047 instructional hours logged
- 60% of adult leaners with 70 instructional hours gained at least one grade level or one literacy level in their reading ability. (National average is 40%.)
- 8 adult learners became U.S. citizens
(142 new citizens since Chatham Literacy started in 2008!
Read more about Our Impact
Community Impact
The free educational services Chatham Literacy volunteers provide touches the lives of everyone in our community. Our students and our tutors are both enriched by the experiences they share. The individuals, businesses and organizations which support us all benefit from having more educated and capable residents and employees.
Here are a few stories about people in our community and how Chatham Literacy has impacted their lives.
Vicky Klementowicz and Her Student Joanna
Sharing stories like tutor Vicky Klementowicz and her student Joanna are such a blessing. Vicky, now a US Citizen, was born in Australia and lived in several different places across Europe. Having moved here from another country she understands the culture shock and language barriers others face. Her desire to tutor comes from a place of shared experience that fuels her passion to help others.
Joanna, who is learning ESOL, is determined to learn English for three reasons, “I live here now. I need to be able to communicate with my children better as our cultures are changing. They speak English and I need to talk with them more and understand what their teachers send home and what they write about. Also better English will help me at work.”
Chatham News & Record: “Chatham Literacy helps scores of immigrants achieve citizenship”
After three decades in the United States, Guatemalan native Dora Interiano finally achieved last December what she’d spent over a year working toward: U.S. citizenship.
To her, it makes a world of difference.
Read the full article in the Chatham News + Record in Spanish and English.
Pittsboro Print Plus Is Making An Imprint On Us and You Are A Part Of It
Chatham Literacy Employment That Empowers
We want to share a student story that shows us how important it is to have people in our lives that prioritize literacy. People like you who commit the time, dedication, and determination to participate in our programs and learn new skills. Without your bravery we would not be able to change the lives we have.
This is Margarita’s story.
Pittsboro Print Plus in Downtown Pittsboro is a locally owned print shop. Heather Johnson, the owner of Pittsboro Print Plus, reached out to us when she hired a new employee, Margarita. Margarita is more than capable of doing the job she was hired to do. However, Heather felt Margarita lacked some of the confidence that her job requires because English is not her first language. In her new position she greets customers, takes orders, and performs other tasks that require her to interact with people who enter the business. Margarita only reached the sixth grade in Mexico, and she does not have a formal education here in the U.S.. Her story is a very familiar challenge that many of our students face: she had to stop going to school to work and to financially contribute to her family. The opportunity for Margarita that Heather has offered her in the new position is allowing her to take ESOL classes during her work hours, so they will be paid, and she can take classes twice a week. Margarita is so excited to get started and we have already found a tutor to help her improve her English language skills. We want to highlight Margarita’s courage and Heather’s flexibility and investment in Margarita and the transformational power of literacy.
Imagining a world where more employers, communities, and neighbors empower one another may seem like a dream to some but here in Chatham County it is our reality thanks to you!
Impact Reports
We are proud of the accomplishments of the Chatham County Literacy Council, our students, and our volunteers, which are chronicled in our annual reports. To learn more about our programming, income, and expenditures, please click on one of the impact reports below.
2022 Impact Report Available
We are excited to publish our annual report. Read out about all of our accomplishments in the past year. And please share our story with your family and friends
Needs Assessment — Key Findings
The purpose of this report is to provide the broadest summary statements, key findings, and recommendations from the Literacy Needs Assessment and Literacy Skills Assessment. This Community Narrative is the first of three increasingly detailed reports. Click below to download the report.