My Gratitude Diary

The Portland Literacy Council Board of Directors is grateful that we could offer top notch training during the pandemic.

We are grateful to the Wish You Well Foundation. The Foundation provided a grant in 2000 that PLC used to offer all of the Zoom workshops that were so well received by tutors in the Portland metro area and beyond.

We are grateful to the programs that continued to provide ESOL, GED®, and basic literacy tutoring during the pandemic. Thankfully, area programs quickly jumped in to offer online classes and tutoring.

We are grateful to all of the volunteers who continued to tutor English language learners, GED certificate hopefuls, and those who wanted to improve their literacy skills.

We are grateful to the many new volunteers who took PLC’s Basic Tutor Training workshops and Awesome Tutor Workshops.

We are grateful to all of our supporters, donors, and friends of Portland Literacy. Thank you for being here.

Peggy L. Murphy, President

Portland Literacy Council Board of Directors

PLC Online and In-Person

Tutor Training Opportunities

PLCs 2022 training programs wrapped up in December with the Awesome Tutor workshop, “Learning and teaching vocabulary.” In 2022, PLC offered four Basic Tutor Training opportunities, four GED tutoring workshops, and five additional Awesome Tutor workshops.

After the start of the pandemic, PLC transitioned its workshops to an online format, and had success reaching out to students with challenges attending live classroom sessions (for example parents without childcare), as well as students beyond the Portland metro area. Because of this, PLC plans to continue hosting its trainings in both an online and in-person format.

Our 2023 schedule includes at least ten Awesome Tutor Workshops. Also in 2023, PLC plans to offer at least four Basic Tutor Training workshops--two online and two in-person. 

Get ready for January -- be a volunteer literacy tutor!

If you have any suggestions for topics for either of PLC's workshops, please contact PLC Board Member Linda Rountree at: linda@portlandliteracy.org.

Volunteer Tutors Needed!

Several programs around the Portland Metro area need volunteer tutors. If you are available to tutor (or know someone interested in becoming a tutor) please consider contacting one of the following programs. And please share this information with your network:

Beaverton Literacy Council

Check out www.beavertonliteracy.org/volunteer or contact Linda Bonder at lindab@beavertonlitercy.org

Beaverton Literacy Council is offering online and in-person classes, and is always

looking for new teachers and teachers' assistants for both. Evening classes are in-

person at the Bethel Congregational Church; morning classes are held at Beaverton

Christian Church; class size is typically 5-15 students. Evening volunteer tutors are especially needed for low level learners in both online and in-person classes. New and existing volunteers are always welcome to observe classes. Contact Linda Bonder or fill out the volunteer interest form at Beaverton Literacy's website for more information.

Multnomah County Library

Contact Adult Literacy Services, Lisa Regimbal, Coordinator at mcl.adult.literacy@multco.us or 503.577.9984

Multnomah County Library is looking for English Language Learner, English reading, and

Spanish GED tutors who are available at Rockwood and Kenton Library branches. The library is mostly returning to in-person tutoring and looking for in-person tutors. Virtual tutoring is available and virtual tutors are needed.

Portland Community College (PCC)

Contact Edit McDonald at emcdonal@pcc.edu (Rock Creek and remote conversation groups), Mark Palmer at mark.palmer2@pcc.edu (Sylvania), or Gale Czerski at

gale.czerski15@pcc.edu (Southeast and Cascade)

PCC is gearing up for winter term, and in need of ESL volunteers for mostly face-to-

face classroom settings. Classroom teachers need some 1:1 volunteers to supplement

students in classrooms. In addition, PCC usually has on-going online group

conversation sessions that could always use additional volunteer tutor assistance.

TORUS

Check out https://www.torustransforms.org/programs or contact Ramin Tokhi at ramin@torustransforms.org

Torus, a new Portland-based non-profit organization, is looking for new volunteers to bolster its growing volunteer ESL team. Torus offers free English classes to anyone living in the U.S., especially immigrant, refugee, and low-income populations residing in the Portland Metro area. Classes are coordinated through WhatsApp and conducted on Zoom. In addition, Torus offers in-person English classes at the Multnomah County Rockwood library, the Slavic and Eastern European Center on SE 99th, and the Kateri Park Apartments on SE 28th.