LCMC is able to offer these life-changing programs thanks to a committed group of volunteers--the largest volunteer corps of any nonprofit organization in Montgomery County. Because the need for LCMC's services is vital and growing, the organization is always in urgent need of additional volunteers.

LCMC's greatest volunteer demand is for tutors to work one-on-one or in small groups with students learning English or basic reading and writing. LCMC matches volunteers and students based on hours of availability and geographic convenience. Matched pairs or groups then meet in mutually convenient public places--usually in study rooms at the county's public libraries. Tutors generally commit to volunteering two to four hours per week.

LCMC provides full training to ready a volunteer to work with individuals who speak no English; tutors do not require knowledge of another language. The organization also provides lesson books, skills books, and teacher's manuals for a full four years of curriculum, plus supplemental materials that can help teach skills beyond reading, speaking and writing. In addition, LCMC staff offers specialized training for tutors who face specific obstacles with students, and delivers regular workshops, newsletters, office hours, and continuing tutor education opportunities to ensure tutors always feel supported and effective.

Literacy tutoring can transform the lives of the Literacy Council's students, whose new skills frequently lead to better education, employment, and daily quality of life. The program can transform the lives of LCMC's tutors, as well. Volunteers regularly report that tutoring offers them a chance to learn about new cultures through their students, and many gush at having made friends who have changed their lives. Tutors have often attend the naturalization ceremonies when their students pass their US citizenship tests and graduation ceremonies when they go on to obtain their GEDs.

Volunteers also report that tutoring with LCMC has helped them develop deeper empathy and compassion for people struggling with communicating, and say their experiences with their students have made them better neighbors. And there's the reward of simply helping someone grow. "If I can, in some small way, help a person in my community become more independent through improving their literacy," notes volunteer Harry, "then that's for me."

To learn more about the Literacy Council and how to become a volunteer tutor, email Ashley France, call 301-610-0300 x206, or visit the  LCMC website.