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THE VOLUNTEER VIEW
September 2014 Volume 2, Issue 6
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Dear Volunteers,
As a new member of the staff, I am excited to be meeting many of you and getting to hear about your experiences volunteering with Literacy KC. Such a fine group!
I was on hand for the Aug. 14 Tutor Training Workshop, which was a great way to get help on tutor issues from each other and our instructional staff. We also did some fun exercises in grammar and writing. I hope you will check out future tutor workshops in the newsletter - there are two in September.
I also want to highlight some volunteer opportunities we have coming up, which you can find listed in the newsletter: Our up and coming Family Reading Program, our Digital Life Skills classes, and Student Orientation all have particular needs in the coming weeks.
Also, if you're in the area, come on down to First Friday and say hello. We'll have a table set up and maybe a few surprises.
Remember our door is always open. Feel free to e-mail with issues or suggestions any time!
Best,
Kathy McBride
Volunteer Coordinator
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Volunteer Needs
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Literacy for all Luncheon:
We are looking for five volunteers to help assemble bookmarks in our office for our Literacy for All Luncheon. No special skills needed. Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 8-9, 10am - 12pm. We'd be happy to see you either one or both days! Donuts will be provided.
- New Student Orientation: Tuesday, Sept. 23. We need volunteers to help conduct individual intake interviews with our incoming students. We are offering both afternoon and evening sessions. Tutors who wish to help with the afternoon session should arrive at noon for training and can expect to leave by 3:30, and tutors helping with the evening session should arrive at 5 p.m. for training and can expect to leave by 8:30 pm. This early arrival allows us the opportunity to train tutors on our new intake process.
- Children's Reading Volunteers:
We need volunteers to help with the children of the Family Literacy Project. This would include reading, literacy activities and games. It is held at the Westport Library and you could volunteer any or all of the following times: Mon, Wed and Fri 8:30 - 10:00 AM.
- First Floor Reception Desk Attendant: Thursdays from 5:00-6:30
- Several individuals have volunteered to be part of a rotation on Thursdays but we are still in need of 1-2 more volunteers to "rotate" with them. If you are willing to help at the desk one Thursday per month, we need you!
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Special Projects
We are currently looking for volunteers to help us with some special projects and we'd love your help!
- Paperless 2013- it's now 2014 and we've made tremendous progress on our Paperless 2013 Project, but we're not quite finished. We need a bit more help scanning some of our paper files into our electronic filing system.
- Database Conversion- we have begun our conversion to a new database. Volunteers working on this project would help primarily with data entry.
Events & Happenings
- Change of Pace 5K Run/Walk: Sept. 6. One or two volunteers are needed to set up a Literacy KC table for the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ's "Change of Pace" 5K Run/Walk. The event takes place Sept. 6 from 8 a.m. to 12 noon. on Holmes Road.
- Sept. 9, 6:30 - 8:00 pm: Power of Reading. Literacy Kansas City students share their personal stories about how reading is transforming their lives. Plus, published local writers will read from their work and discuss the importance of good reading skills. Located at the KC Library, Plaza branch.
- Sept. 17, 4:00 - 6:00 pm: Open House. September is Literacy Month! To celebrate, we're hosting an open house from 4-6 p.m. at a location to be determined. Watch your email in the coming days for an invitation with more information!
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Sept. 25, 11:45 - 1:00 pm: Literacy for All Luncheon.Our featured speaker is Whitney Terrell, an acclaimed novelist and journalist. You will also hear from community leaders and LKC students and volunteers about the critical need for literacy in our homes, schools and businesses. Held at Grand Street Event Space. For info on tickets or sponsorship: literacykc.org
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Help Support our Open Doors Program
Due to recent state-wide budget cuts, our Open Doors Department of Corrections grant has been discontinued as of July 31st. In order to continue the vital incentives, such as transportation support, needed for students to attend class and tutoring sessions, we need your help! Bus passes are the easiest and most important thing we can provide to Open Doors students. A single ride is only $1.50. A monthly pass is $50.00.
Literacy Kansas City has begun a GoFundMe campaign in order to help fill the funding gap for the Open Doors program while we look for a more long-term funding source. If you are able, any amount will help. Click the link below to help us reach our goal of $2,000.00.
Questions about Open Doors or our GoFundMe campaign? Contact Emily Hane, Program Coordinator: [email protected]
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Digital Life Skills - Come Join the Fun!
Our Digital Life Skills classes have been a huge success! Through these classes, over 30 students have learned how to click a mouse, turn on a computer, and set up their very own email account! Many of our students were using laptops for the very first time, and a few have taken advantage of their $50 voucher and purchased their own computers for their homes. As our daily lives become more intertwined with technology, it is critical that everyone has computer access and basic digital life skills. We are so happy to bring these services to our students with our partner organization, Connecting for Good.
Because of the positive feedback from our Digital Life Skills classes, we will be offering more sessions in the fall. If you are interested in instructing a digital life skills class or serving as a class helper, please contact Emily at [email protected].
We will provide training for all classroom instructors and mentors. No advanced computer skills are needed. If you can send and receive an email yourself and are a patient and energetic instructor, then you are just who we are looking for!
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With the start of our new program, The Family Reading Program, we are in need of used computers (laptops preferred, but we can accept desktop computers, as well!). Upon successful completion of a digital literacy course through Connecting For Good, our students in the Family Literacy Project will be given a $50 voucher for a refurbished laptop. Your donated computer would help a Literacy Kansas City student get connected in the digital age in which we live!
Concerned about data privacy? Not to worry! This effort is in partnership with non-profit agency Connecting For Good, who will wipe all data using Active Killdisk. This is in adherence with the U.S. Department of Defense Standards (DOD 5220.22M).
For more information or to donate your computer, contact Logan Hartpence:
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ANNUAL TUTOR CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
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All Literacy Kansas City tutors are required to attend two tutor workshops per year:
- one session of his/her choosing from a variety of topics held throughout the year
- one session of Sensitivity Training
New tutors (and existing tutors who have not previously participated in our Sensitivity Workshop) should plan to participate in Sensitivity Training as soon possible after beginning tutor work with a Literacy Kansas City student. Our students come from a variety of social, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds; Sensitivity Training, led by Senior GEARS Instructor Phil Denver, helps us to establish positive relationships and interactions with those whose backgrounds and life circumstances may vary from our own.
We thank you for your time and dedication to our mission and to your students' success and hope that the workshops offered will be helpful to you in your tutoring work.
Upcoming Tutor Workshops
Phonological Awareness - Wednesday, September 17 6:00 - 7:30 PM
Light Appetizers provided
Strong readers have strong phonemic awareness and poor readers have poor phonemic awareness. Intervention to improve phonemic awareness leads to improved reading abilities. This workshop will focus on techniques for developing phonics skills (matching letters to sounds, rules of spelling, reading and writing, and phonemes (recognizing and manipulating sounds). Lynn Lutjen will be the presenter of this workshop. Lynn is a recently retired educator who taught hearing impaired children with distorted or non-existent phonemic awareness. She is currently a reading tutor with Literacy Kansas City for an ELL student who began with 10 sight words and worked out of Laubach 1. She states that it is easier to teach him than a deaf student simply because he can hear!
Tutoring the Non-Native Speaker - Thursday, September 18 6:00 - 7:30 PM
Light appetizers provided
This workshop is designed to give insights, strategies and ideas to tutors working with learners whose native language is not English. The presenter, Zoe Kinney, is an Education professional with academic and practical experience teaching English for Learners of Other Languages (ELL). The workshop will be fun and informative.
Dyslexia: Recognizing and Working with the Dyslexic Reader
Tuesday, October 14 12:00 - 1:30 PM
Light lunch will be provided
This workshop provides valuable tools and insights that will help you determine if your learner has problems that may be related to Dyslexia. The workshop teaches us how to recognize the symptoms of dyslexia and provides valuable teaching tips to help in our work with learners who face these challenges. Ann Kavanaugh is our presenter. Ann is a Reading Specialist with an academic and professional focus on Dyslexic readers. All are encouraged to attend.
To register for one of these workshops, RSVP via email to [email protected]. Remember to include your name and which workshop you're planning to attend!
Ideas for future workshops? Interested in facilitating a workshop?
Tutor workshops are for the benefit of Literacy Kansas City tutors, to help you answer questions or find resources to help your student to be successful. We offer workshops on the questions and issues which are most often brought to our attention, but we know that there may be other topics you'd like to learn about, so please do not hesitate to let Nancy know if there is a specific topic you would like addressed in a workshop, or if you're interested in developing and facilitating a workshop!
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HAVE YOU TURNED IN YOUR AUGUST PROGRESS REPORT?
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Please remember that all tutors are required to submit a monthly progress report, regardless of the program in which you tutor. You can pick up hard copies of the progress report form in the office or download either a Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF version on our website. Progress reports are due by the 5th of each month for the previous month's hours.
**Note: A new progress reporting system is in the works, which will make submitting tutoring hours very quick and simple. We know that our current progress reporting processes are a bit clunky. Bear with us as we finish our data systems overhaul in the next couple of months. We promise it will be worth the wait and we thank you for your patience!
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Don't see any opportunities you would like to help with?
We always have special projects around the office for which we love to use volunteers. Let us know if you are interested in donating a few hours to work on one of our current projects!
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Sign Up Today
To sign up for one or more of the volunteer opportunities listed on this page, please e-mail [email protected]. Thank you in advance for your help - we truly appreciate your time and dedication to our mission. We couldn't do it without you!
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Our Wish List
- Paper Towels
- Kleenex
- Hand sanitizer
- Bottled Water
- Individually packaged snacks
Chips, Crackers, Cookies, etc.
- Student supplies:
Pencils
Erasers
Notebook Paper
Spiral Notebooks
Folders
Binders (clean, new or gently used)
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Share the volunteer tutor experience...
Invite your friends, neighbors and colleagues to become a Literacy Kansas City tutor. We have learners waiting for a tutor and we need your help spreading the word about this great opportunity. Talk to your associates, give us their contact information and we will tell them more about opportunities here at Literacy Kansas City.
We are in dire need of tutors to serve our students - be a part of growing the organization to meet the demands of our community, and receive a thank you gift in return!
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Total Volunteer Hours in 2014:
6,031
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June, 2014
Volunteer Hours - Paperless Conversion Project: 14
Other Volunteer Hours (Non-Tutoring): 209.8
July, 2014
New Tutors Trained: 26
Volunteer Hours - Paperless Conversion Project: 20
Other Volunteer Hours (Non-Tutoring): 441.2
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July All-Stars
Congratulations and
THANK YOU
to the volunteers below who generously donated the most time last month. Way to go!
Jan Wilkinson
Christi Emery
Clara Van Draska
Jane Beasley
Karen Erich
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 Reporting Volunteer Hours
We count all the volunteer hours that are submitted to us. Most hours are logged in one of the following ways:
- Workshop Sign-In Sheet
- In-Office Sign-In Sheet
- Progress Report
If you are participating in other events, such as community outreach or other special events where there is no sign-in sheet, it's possible we don't have those hours on file. To make sure that we get those hours accounted for, all you need to do is send us an email with the following information:
- Activity you completed (i.e. Community Fair, First Fridays table, Rainy Day Books event, etc)
- Date you completed the activity
- Number of hours you spent on the activity
You can send us one email at the end of the month listing all of your volunteer hours OR you can send us the information as you go - whatever works best for you.
THANK YOU for all of your hard work and dedication to supporting Literacy Kansas City and its mission. We truly could not do it without such a strong and committed volunteer base!
Send your hours via email to the same place you send your progress reports and we'll get them added to our system: [email protected]. |
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HALEY BOX
Director of Information Systems
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211 W Armour Boulevard, Third Floor, Kansas City MO 64111
(816) 333-9332
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