Become a Literacy Volunteer: Register Now for Fall Training

The Literacy Volunteers of Union County, dedicated to providing free, student-centered tutoring services to adults who struggle to read, write and speak English, is now registering for it Fall 2012 New Tutor Training class which begins on September 8 in Elizabeth.  The 15-hour volunteer training, held at the Elizabeth Public Library, 11 South Broad Street, will be conducted on September 8, 22, and 29, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The Library is underwriting the cost of the training in order to encourage literacy tutoring in the community.

“There is an urgent need for tutoring services in Elizabeth so we are thrilled to partner with the Elizabeth Public Library to respond to the need,” said Elizabeth Gloeggler, executive director of Literacy Volunteers.  “Along with paying for the cost of providing the training, the Library has dedicated space and tutoring materials in the library for literacy tutors to work with their students.”

Attendance is required at all three training sessions to become a certified tutor of both Basic Reading Skills and English as a Second Language.

Literacy Volunteer tutors will be matched with a student or students from the growing waiting list of over 200 adults who have turned to Literacy Volunteers for help reading, writing and speaking English. Volunteer tutors meet with their student(s) in a public location, usually a Union County Public Library, for one to two hours each week. New volunteers are asked to make a commitment of 50 hours, which usually takes about one year to complete.

LVUC provides ongoing supervision and support to tutors in the form of free in-services on specific topics such as Health Literacy, Learning Disabilities, Financial Literacy and Developing ESL Conversation and Small Group Instruction. Literacy Volunteers of Union County’s Tutor Liaison Committee provides additional support through a mentoring program, which brings more experienced tutors and new volunteers together to share ideas.

To volunteer, you must be at least 18-years-old, able to speak and read English and willing to tutor in Union County. You do not need to have any teaching experience and you do not need to speak a foreign language. During the workshop new volunteers will learn techniques and develop skills to tutor adult learners.

There is a $40 non-refundable registration fee to cover the cost of training materials distributed to new volunteers at the workshop. Need based scholarships are available to cover the cost of registration for qualifying individuals and are based on availability.

For more information, please call Literacy Volunteers of Union County at 908-486-1777 or visit our website http://www.lvaunion.org.