February | VOLUNTEER NEWSLETTER | 2025

Thanks to all who helped with the move! Linda, Ray , Chris, Ann, Karen, Larry, Library Volunteers, Lia, Cynthia, Ian, Jess, Riley, and Paulina, we couldn't have done it without you. If you haven't already, we hope you come see the finished product soon!

As we navigate through a new presidential administration, we understand the importance of staying informed about the latest executive orders that directly impact our immigrant communities. We should all know our rights, but we also want to reassure students that we take their rights, safety and privacy seriously in order to decrease any stress they may feel about participating in our programs and classes. Our mission has always been to create opportunities through education and access, and in light of recent changes, we’re providing key resources and information to ensure that our students have the tools they need to protect themselves and their families, and that you feel able to support them should they have any questions.

Here is some more information on our organizational response:

• What to Do If ICE Comes to Literacy Source: It is important to note that both ICE and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) are NOT allowed in private facilities, nor can they have access to records or information unless they have a signed judicial warrant document with Literacy Source identified as the place to be searched. The warrant would need to be acknowledged and certified by a Literacy Source Co-E.D. It is highly unlikely, however, if ICE does come to Literacy Source, stay calm, do not allow them entry past the elevator space and find a staff member IMMEDIATELY, they are trained on how to respond.
• Know Your Rights: We have Know Your Rights information and Red Cards available in the kitchen at the center. Please see the below article for additional information about how to handle various questions or situations students may encounter.
• Student Data Privacy: We are working to make sure that student Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is password protected. The databases we use are secure. We will be working to get all student PII off Google/attendance sheets as soon as possible. We will still be able to share attendance sheets and select data with partners as needed.

You play such an important role in helping us spread this vital information to those who need it most. Together, we can continue to ensure that our students have access to the resources, knowledge, and support they need to create a better future for themselves, their families, and the community.

In community,

Literacy Source

In these uncertain times, many of our immigrant students are grappling with the latest executive orders. They may come to you with questions, so we wanted to share with you this Know Your Rights information from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) about questions they may have or situations they may face, such as:

• Law Enforcement & Immigration Status
• Police or ICE Stopping Students
• Police or ICE Coming to their Home
• Needing Legal Representation
• Dealing with Detention
• Challenging a Deportation Order

Your role is critical in offering comfort, guidance, and resources to students who may be anxious about their rights and safety. It’s important to approach these conversations with sensitivity, empathy, calm, and clarity, knowing that you are not just providing information, but also instilling a sense of security and support in an otherwise unsettling environment. By engaging in these courageous conversations, you're not only providing necessary legal information but also reminding students that they are not alone.

If you have more questions about these conversations or how to support your students, please reach out to Caroline, our Volunteer Program Manager.

Spring Literary Mixer 

Thursday, April 3rd: 6:30-8pm

Please join us for our spring term volunteer appreciation event. It is scheduled for the week when we have no classes, so hopefully more of you will be able to join. We are excited to hold it in our new space. 

Please bring a book or book title that you recommend, to show and tell fellow volunteers. It can be any book, an old favorite, the only book you have re-read, one you are currently reading etc.

We will supply drinks and snacks! Hope you can join! 

Writing Support Workshop (In-person)

Save the Date! Saturday, March 15th 10am - noon

Lake City Center, 12360 Lake City Way N.E., Suite 301, Seattle, WA 98125

Snacks provided!

This training is for volunteers either tutoring students in writing or supporting them in the classroom activities. The training will explore instructional strategies for low stakes writing practice routines to support reluctant writers, as well as when and how to give writing feedback during the writing process. You will get hands-on practice on how to support assigned writing tasks with their learners. Training is suitable for all levels of students. Please join the workshop Google Classroom, RSVP for the training and complete the Before the Training activity to follow.

Questions? Contact the instructor Cat.

Join us for our in-person Literacy Source Luncheon: Writing the Next Chapter. 

We want our volunteers to be the first to register for this event. We have much to celebrate and would love to have you with us as we hear from several of our students and Will Durden, the Director of Basic Education for Adults in Washington State. We will also be joined again by radio personality Marina Rockinger, as our M.C. for the event. 

When: Thursday, April 24,2025 

Where: Seattle Mountaineers

Doors open at 11:30 the program is from 12-1pm.

Please register here and help us spread the word about this event!

Volunteer & Sponsorship opportunities:

• If you’re interested in volunteering at this event, please email analisaj@literacysource.org. We are looking for table hosts, greeters, those helping with registration, set-up, and tear-down, A/V, and more.  
• If you are a business owner, interested in sponsoring this event, please email staceyh@literacysource.org

• Christine Thomas – ESOL Tutor
• Faiza Ahmed – Conversation Partner
• John Travaglini - Conversation Partner
• Nava Gross – ESOL Tutor
• Neil Baldock - Conversation Partner
• Pam Worner – ESOL Tutor
• Poly Freeman - Conversation Partner
• Rebecca Hoff – ABE Tutor
• Shin Zhao – ESOL Class Assistant
• Tess Bittner - Conversation Partner

Literacy Source partnered with one individual from the Philippines who gained citizenship in the past month.

Congratulations!

Erasure

Staff: Amy Kickliter

Just Right

Staff: Allie Azersky('s daughter)

Skin & Bones

Staff: Cory Ihrig-Goldhaber

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Staff: Liz Wurster

The Book of Negroes

Staff: Katherine VanHenley

Leslie F*cking Jones

Staff: Cat Howell

Lunar New Year Celebration

Saturday, February 22, 11am - 4pm (Seattle's Chinatown/International District, FREE)

Welcome to CIDBIA's annual Lunar New Year Celebration. 2025 marks the Year of the Snake! Vendor booths will line up along S King St., dance performances and music will take place throughout the main stage at Hing Hay Park, foodies will have the opportunity to explore 40+ food walk destinations — you can truly feel the atmosphere of this cultural intersection. We look forward to celebrating with you soon!

From Roots to Canopy - National Geographic Live

Sunday, February 23 - Tuesday, February 25, Various times (Benaroya Hall, $27-$55)

Throughout human history, trees have provided our most important sources of sustenance, protection and wonder. Nalini Nadkarni, a tree canopy ecologist, has spent four decades dangling among the branches to study the ways that forests inform our daily lives. Climb into the clouds to experience the magnificent wildlife and incredible science happening in the vast, hidden worlds suspended above our heads. 

Nalini Nadkarni is a National Geographic Explorer At Large, the highest distinction within the organization. She pioneered canopy access techniques to study the plants, animals and microbes that live in the treetops. She interweaves her research on rainforest canopies with innovative public engagement. A contributor to 150 scientific papers and books, she has cast new insights on the importance of canopy plants in ecosystem processes and the effects of human activities on forest diversity and function. Her work is featured in academic journals and in public media such as NPR's Science Friday and Radiolab. 

Victor Luckerson: A Scheme to Forget, a Demand to Remember

Wednesday, February 26, 6:30pm (Town Hall Seattle, Pay What You Will)

Tulsa’s Greenwood neighborhood was an ascendant black business district when it was burned to the ground by a white mob in 1921. Since the days after the destruction, people in power have been trying to erase the memory of the Tulsa Race Massacre, going so far as to rip pages from the historical record to hide what unfolded. This purposeful forgetting continues today, as state governments in Oklahoma and elsewhere limit what histories can be taught to children in schools. But all along black Tulsans have provided their own historical ledger, through oral histories, legal battles, and the black press. They demand that the city and the nation remember. In his lecture, Built From the Fire author Victor Luckerson will explore this century-long battle over the “terrain of the mind” in Tulsa. His talk will explore why the story of Greenwood has been wiped from the American consciousness for so long, and the ongoing efforts by black Tulsans to make that legacy more widely known.

Our next New Volunteer Orientation (via Zoom) will be on March 5 at either 1pm or 7pm. 

Potential volunteers are invited to register online here. 

Miss any of our past volunteer newsletters? You can access archived newsletters at the bottom of the Volunteer Resources of our webpage.