Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester

Providing English language proficiency for Economic Security

Scrabble Scrambler & Auction

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Join us for a fun night of word games to support LVGW! No preparation or materials necessary, just an open mind! We’ll teach you how to play. Register on Zoom by May 4th.

This event is free to attend and open to all. Donations are greatly appreciated and will help us provide free English and basic literacy instruction to 600 adults in Worcester this year. Help us reach our spring fundraising goal of $8,000! Make a one-time or monthly contribution to LVGW. Monthly donations have the greatest impact and help us sustain our work. 

The online auction is open until May 6 at 8:30 pm. Place your bids now.

A big thank you to our event sponsors:

Linguist Sponsor
Storyteller Sponsor

Open Mic 2/24: Languages of Love

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We are excited to partner with the City of Worcester for the third installment of the Community from Home live, public open-mic series on Wednesday, February 24th from 7:00-8:00pm. Poets, authors, and musicians of all ages are invited to share original works of all subjects and/or interpret the evening’s theme, “Languages of Love.” Friendship, family, first loves, and more – recount experiences and memories of caring, compassion, and loving yourself and others!


We would love to hear LVGW student voices at this event! For students of all levels, this is a great opportunity to practice public speaking, and we would be happy to help you practice before the event. Please feel free to express yourself in more than one language.


To present your original piece at the event, please complete the Sign-Up Form by Monday, February 22nd.

Selected participants will be provided with a web conference link to present their original piece during the live virtual event which will be livestreamed from the City of Worcester’s official Facebook page.


If you have any questions or concerns, please email info@lvgw.org.

International Literacy Day – September 8, 2020

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Donate today!

Literacy means different things for different people. For Azita, an immigrant from Iran, literacy means a path to independence.

 

“I want to stand on my own feet. I want to get an education and help people when they have financial problems.”

 

Azita has lived in the US for 15 years and has been studying with LVGW for five years. Before she came to LVGW, Azita was taking classes at a community college and said, “I didn’t talk that much. I would just leave class and come back. After that, I didn’t talk with anyone, just came home and talked to my family in Farsi. I found out I couldn’t follow my teacher’s lecture. In the next sentence, I was trying to figure out what she said in the previous sentence. I struggled a lot.”

 

Now, Azita says that she surprises herself with how much English she knows. “Sometimes when I talk, I think, ‘how did this word come out of my mouth?’ My brain just learned it!” Through the support of tutors, teachers, and staff at LVGW, coupled with more serious independent study, Azita has begun to learn more quickly. She loves to read, and her favorite book right now is The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo.

 

With continued support from the LVGW community, Azita is following the path to independence through literacy.

 

Today, on International Literacy Day, we invite you to celebrate with us and help to increase literacy for hundreds of people like Azita.

 

Give today. Make a contribution of $30, $60, or $120 and receive a thank you gift.

 

To make a contribution offline, please mail your check to
Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester
3 Salem Square, Suite 332
Worcester, MA 01608

 

Check out our Facebook page for more stories from students like Azita.

 

Thank you for your support.

 

Sincerely,
The LVGW Team

In Solidarity

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Dear friends,

We are deeply saddened by the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and countless others before them. We stand with the Black community in mourning. We see you, we hear you, and we are with you. Black lives matter.
We are committed to anti-racist education as a crucial part of our mission. The following is a list of resources that tutors and students can use in their lessons, as many learners have understandably raised questions about recent events.

We are determined to strengthen our leadership and volunteer recruitment practices to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion, and to ensure that our leadership is more representative of those we serve. Over the coming months, we will engage more with students, tutors, teachers, and other stakeholders to better understand your respective experiences as well as seek ideas and input that will ultimately make us stronger as a community.

Conversations about race can be uncomfortable, and we do not pretend to have all the answers, but we are here to listen, talk, and learn together.

In solidarity,
The LVGW Team

Spring into Literacy

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“For the first time since I arrived [in the US], I felt part of this community, sharing with people like me,…and that really motivated me to keep growing.” This is how Maya, an English language learner, described her first experience with LVGW’s classes.

Throughout the past few months, we have remained committed to our students, and we have transitioned to distance learning for both classes and tutoring.

We need your help to sustain these vital services.

Hear from volunteers and students, including Maya, about what LVGW means to them:

Read more.

We’re Going Virtual!

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Over these past few weeks, we have been inspired by the creativity and compassion of our community banding together while remaining physically apart. Our tutors, teachers, and staff have been working hard to ensure a smooth transition to distance learning for all of our 600+ adult learners.
To ensure the health and well-being of everyone, we have made the difficult decision to cancel our in-person Scrabble Tournament, which had been scheduled for May 2. But don’t worry! With our virtual fundraiser, you will still be able to support our mission of helping people thrive, and you may even play some word games while you’re at it.

Read the update about our virtual fundraiser here.

 

Student Family Scrabble Game Day at LVGW 4.7.19!

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Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester is hosting a Family Scrabble Game Day

for our students and their families in collaboration with the JCC on Good Deeds Day!

Where and When:  Sunday, April 7, 2019

LVGW Classroom, 90 Madison St. Room 303A

11:00am-1:00pm

Register by April 5th at  info@lvgw.org – Reserve your seat with Lena today!

For more details, see our  LVGW and JCC Student Scrabble Flyer for more

 

 Individuals and families are invited to learn a new word game and meet new members of our community.  We hope that you can join us!

 

18th Annual Scrabble Scrimmage Tournament 5.4.2019

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Thank you to all 2019 Scrabble players, teams, volunteers and sponsors for another wonderful 18th Annual Scrabble Scrimmage Tournament!  A special congratulations to these top three scoring teams!

 Bay State Scrabblers

  Dictionary Divas

 TrustMeitsaWord

Visit our Facebook page for more fabulous photos taken by our fabulous photographer, Fabio Nascimento. Please save the date for next year’s Scrabble Scrimmage, Saturday, May 2, 2020 from 5-8pm!

 

18th Annual Scrabble Scrimmage Tournament 5.4.2019

When: Join us on Saturday, May 4th, 2019 from 5:00pm-8:00pm!
Where: Worcester State University, 486 Chandler Street, Worcester MA.

We hope you can join us for this annual competition for adults of all abilities. Includes prizes, food, beverages, raffle, cash bar prizes and a fun time!  Pull a team of 3-6 players together and see if your company can claim first prize over last year’s winner, Bay State Savings Bank! Registration is $25 per person and includes dinner!

Proceeds support our English literacy education programs and the 600 adult students we educate!

Click here to register today or contact us at info@lvgw.org for more information about attending, sponsorship or volunteer opportunities!

Thank you to our current sponsors!

Leadership Level Sponsor: Bay State Savings Bank
Teacher Level Sponsors: Countrybank and Fletcher Tilton, PC

 

45th Annual Meeting and International Potluck Dinner

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45th Annual Meeting and International Potluck Dinner

Celebrating 45 years: 1973 to 2018

45th Annual Meeting and International Potluck Dinner. Thank you Kathleen for your four years of board leadership!

Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester has been providing English language skill education since 1973 in Worcester.  Our constituents came together for our special 45th Annual Meeting where we celebrated over a shared International Potluck dinner. Attendees included our Board of Directors, Program and Teaching Staff, Volunteer Tutors and Students and their families.  We are proud  and  honored to be a longstanding provider to 600 adults per year who are in need of ABE/ESOL English language skill education, to not only thrive in Worcester, but improve their future with English language proficiency and economic security.

Everyone at Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester has a vital role to create a positive impact with our students and our community.

We are grateful for all who chose to contribute their time, talent, skills and contributions to help us make an impact on so many.

Yours in Community,

Jolene Jennings and the Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester Team

45th Annual Meeting and International Potluck Dinner FY19

 

 

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