The Catskill Chronicle

Story and photos by Carol Montana

MONTICELLO, NY – Literacy Volunteers of Sullivan County (LVSC) celebrated volunteers, tutors and students at their 12th Annual Dinner on Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at the Monticello Fire House.

This is the first time the dinner has been held off-site instead of at the Literacy Center on North Street in Monticello, where the group had to move books and furniture to hold the event. “We can see each other here,” joked Executive Director Connie Keller.

The dinner was potluck, with dishes from the many different countries represented by LVSC members.

“We must take the opportunity to recognize our students and tutors and volunteers. It’s an opportunity to recognize everyone who makes this organization possible,” said Keller, who has been executive director for five years and board president 10 years before that. “Without the students and tutors there is no program. … the people are so wonderful.”

According to Keller, “The mission of LVSC is to help adults improve reading, writing and speaking skills, and to improve all the literacies: math literacy, computer literacy, health literacy. It gives them an opportunity to participate in society to a greater extent, a chance to obtain a job, get a better job. Be better parents. It’s a joy.”

That joy will soon translate to Bethel where a satellite literacy center will open at the Duggan School. Keller says that the organization has been wanting to move into the Western part of county. “It’s hard for people to get to us without a public transportation system. We have group tutoring in Glen Spey and Lake Huntington and now in Bethel to be more accessible to those people who need our services.”

And those services were celebrated in what was the LVSC largest dinner ever.

There were three students speakers who gave their speeches before dinner because Keller didn’t want them to get nervous. And student Elya Shyllo sang God Bless America for the appreciative crowd. 

Sister Ann Toomey of Forestburgh has been a tutor for two years. “I think in another life I was born a Latina, and I know that they have problems in the U.S. I never get frustrated because I have this push to help them, especially with the immigration problems, and my mother was an Irish immigrant, so I know things about coming over on the boat …”

And Brenda Safer, also a two-year tutor, finds great satisfaction in her work. “I have tremendous admiration for someone who has the courage to try to make their life better. It must be incredibly difficult. I imagine myself put down in Beijing and not knowing a word of the language. I think it’s a positive thing we can do for immigrants. And it does wonder for me because it keeps me active and involved and alive. It may be a bit of a cliché, but you get more out of it than you give.”

Safer’s student, Leonilda Corona, is from the Dominican Republic, and has been a LVSC student for about a year and a half now. Corona has a job at Wal-Mart, where she says her English has been “Very, very mucho helpful in work.”

Minnette Kramer accepted an award on behalf of Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther. “I’m always kind of glad that Aileen gets stuck up in Albany this time of year because I love coming to this dinner. It’s very gratifying, heartwarming and emotional. I want to congratulate and praise you all for the hours of dedication that you have extended as a volunteer assisting people to achieve their personal goals.”

A new literacy program this year is Peer Works at Monticello High School. Genevieve Dainack directs the program where students are trained to be peer tutors. “This year,” says Dainack, “we had 11 students trained and quite a number of students who were tutored. We started in January and really saw the grades improve for almost every student in the program. Juniors and Seniors tutored mostly sophomores and juniors. You don’t have to be an honor roll student, although I had quite a few. The tutors were a very dedicated group, it was a fun place to be, they got to bond with their students. We worked on study skills, getting homework done, anything the student needed.

Keller pointed out special guest Fred Steitz, distributor of the Reading Horizons program used so successfully by LVSC. “It’s a basic reading program with levels from 0 up to 12^th grade. It can be used for remediation or for literacy. … It’s a methodology of teaching reading, and the computer is one component of it. All the tutors here are trained in the methodology. We’re the only company that has both an online and off-line program. It works for both schools and adults.”

Entertainment for the dinner was provided Tony Spina who performed his “Marvelous Magic” act. He was assisted by his wife, Nancy, as he performed slight-of-hand, card tricks and more.

Keller also thanked Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. “The organization provided the LVSC with 10 tickets each to the NY Philharmonic and to the Boston Pops so that 20 students can attend, and experience something they wouldn’t ordinarily have the opportunity to do,” said Keller.

For more information about Literacy Volunteers of Sullivan County, visit http://www.literacysullivan.org/index.htm. Call them at 794-0017 or e-mail: lvasc@in4web.com

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