Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester

Providing English language proficiency for Economic Security

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

 

Lan Huy opens Happy Colors in 2018!

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Lan Huy is a brave and soft spoken young man who recently opened his new graphic design and printing business right here in Worcester. In addition to graphic design and printing, he also has this incredibly complex but beautiful looking embroidery machine, which he is a master of!

He is also a tutored ESOL student at Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester, who recently immigrated to the United States from Vietnam with his young family to create a better life. He is so thankful for the opportunity of literacy, his tutor and his chance to create a good and happy life in the United States.

Lan named his business, Happy Colors, and he selected that name because it means a happy life for him and his family. He continues to meet with his tutor to master the English language and cultural expectations with his tutor Gary at weekly meetings.

Learn more about supporting local business at Happy Colors and consider becoming a tutor to help someone else gain English language skills.

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

 

 

Gary Tuthill

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My name is Gary Tuthill and I’ve been working with Bijan Mohammadi since completing my tutor training in the Winter of 2013. I’m retired from computer programming and this is my first tutoring effort. Bijan is a pleasure to work with, and we’ve become good friends. Much of our time together has been conversation, including job application discussions, house buying evaluation and the history, culture and geography of Iran. While already able to handle the basics of life in Massachusetts, Bijan has become much more comfortable and skilled in communication in English.

[Read more…]

Immigrant and Refugee Stories of Worcester Women

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Everyone has a story to tell.  The Worcester Women’s Oral History Project collects, preserves, and shares the stories of Worcester women including the stories of immigrants who have lived in Worcester for many years and have established themselves as doctors, entrepreneurs, teaches, and directors of nonprofit organizations.  This year WWHOP has collaborated with five Worcester organizations that work with immigrants and refugees in order to gather stories of women who have more recently emigrated from a variety of countries, including Colombia, Algeria, Brazil, China and Burma. Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester was one of the five collaborating nonprofits and we invite you to join us. Print out attached flyer and rsvp to WWOHP today.

WWOHP and LVGW December 5 2017 Event Flyer

We and our students were honored to collaborate with WWOHP  in recording these stories and look forward to sharing the experiences with you! Please join Worcester Women’s Oral History Project and Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester in celebrating the completion of these immigrant women stories at the public event on 12/5/17.

Immigrant and Refugee Stories of Worcester Women
Tuesday, 12/5/17, at 5:30 pm
Worcester Public Library, Saxe Room
free and open to the public – refreshments will be served
rsvp mryandoyle@aol.com or chmartin@townasp.com

Amanda Addeo, Volunteer Tutor and LVGW Board Director

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Amanda Addeo, Unum disability benefits specialist in Worcester’s Benefits Center, says volunteering with Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester is good for the soul. 

Inside: When did you start volunteering?

Amanda: In high school, I was a member of several student organizations where we volunteered around Worcester.

Inside: Why do you volunteer?

Amanda: My motto is “my day-job pays the bills but volunteering feeds my soul.” It’s important for me to be an active member of my community and give back whenever possible, but it’s also
rewarding to see the ripple effect that comes with volunteering. Through my volunteer work, I’ve developed new skills, networked and made great friends, all while helping others. Volunteering can also be a meditative practice that helps you gain a deeper perspective of how communities connect with people.

Inside: What organizations do you volunteer for?

Amanda: I’m volunteering with Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester (LVGW) as a literacy tutor and member of the board of directors right now. In the past, I volunteered with Worcester State University and South High School for Massachusetts Education & Career Opportunities, Inc.’s College Success Institute. I would work with high school juniors and seniors to prepare them for college and beyond.

Inside: What does your volunteer work at LVGW look like?

Amanda: We help adults refine their literacy skills. We teach immigrants, refugees and adult basic-literacy students to read, write and speak English. Participants range from those learning English for the first time to citizens and residents of the community who are functionally illiterate or unable to manage daily living and employment tasks that require skills beyond an elementary level. Each tutor is matched with a student for weekly tutoring sessions. My tutee, Libo, is a young woman from China. She studied some English in China where she attended college, but ended up moving to the United States when her husband enrolled at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Every Friday, Libo and I meet at a coffee shop and focus on conversation, pronunciation, reading and writing. There was a significant cultural exchange that took place as well. We talked about history, politics, cultural norms and traditions – both American and Chinese.

Inside: Do you have a favorite memory or story from volunteering?

Amanda: When Libo and I started working together she was very quiet and isolated herself from the fast-talking American lifestyle. We began with restaurant menus and transitioned to reading Hemingway and Kafka. As her English improved, her confidence did too. Libo, now funny and social, is not just a tutee but my friend. Libo welcomed the birth of her first son and lovingly calls me his auntie.

Inside: What advice would you give to others who are considering volunteering?

Amanda: Volunteering breaks barriers like illiteracy. Whether you volunteer for LVGW or another organization, you are donating your time to build a sustainable community for the future. You learn about yourself and the people you are helping, and it’s an eye-opening experience.

Interview Credits: Unum internal newsletter 9/5/2017

 

Tutors Answer the Call

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Sandy, Judy and Jennifer are three of our dedicated Volunteer Tutors who gave their time, talent and financial support to pilot an under served group of women in Millbury for 6 months this year.
(L-R: Sandy and Judy pictured here )
We thank our shining stars at Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester for their support of English language literacy education!

Saba Salem

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Saba is a young woman in her mid-20’s who came to Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester in 2013 looking for help with English language literacy education. She was born in Iraq and relocated
to the United States as a Syrian refugee with her family in 2008. Since 2013 she has received continuous One-to-One Tutoring from her Literacy Volunteer tutor, Nicole. Saba has not only learned
how to speak the English language but is now highly proficient-she has made incredible strides! In the past three years, Saba was able to obtain her driver’s license, complete her high school equivalency and most recently became one of the foreign-born entrepreneurs in Worcester! She is the owner of her new family restaurant Castle Pizza and More, Pleasant Street in Worcester. This is a motivated young woman who welcomed the helping hand offered to her at Literacy Volunteers with English literacy skills and is not only surviving but thriving and a contributing member in our community.
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