Hello everyone!
I've signed up to participate in this year's 40 in 40 on 9/1/2020 in Pittsfield, MA to benefit the Literacy Volunteers of Berkshire County. The LVOBC is a not-for-profit organization that provides tutoring to adults in basic reading and writing or conversational English.
For some background, I became a board member for LVOBC in 2019, as well as an ESOL tutor with the organization. I currently have two very wonderful students who are committed to gaining the literacy skills they need to reach their goals. I am a huge advocate of education, particularly for adult learners, so this organization is a natural fit for me to give back in a field I am so passionate about. This year has been a challenge for the organization with lesson continuity between tutors and students, particularly with the temporary closure of the library where most of the sessions are held. The tutors and students have had to adapt to several ways of remote teaching/learning, as well as the challenge of keeping the students motivated and engaged so that they are confident that their goals are still attainable throughout this pandemic. The LVOBC has been instrumental in making this new normal successful as they are determined to not let this deter from their mission of continuing to serve the community.
So along with that, the LVOBC board is tasked with becoming creative with fundraising as the current plans of the annual library mini golf event has been put on hold indefinitely, which always has been their biggest fundraising event of the year. (The mini-golf event would transform the library itself into a mini golf course, and has been a very popular annual event) We have come up with an alternative fun outdoor event to celebrate our 40 years as an organization, as well as replace the mini golf for our critical fundraising. Beginning on September 1st, we are doing a run/walk/hike/bike event for 40 days, and I am reaching out to see if any of you would be interested in joining me in the challenge of the fundraising event as a participant or donating to our organization.
If you would like to make a donation please visit my fundraising page at: https://www.Pledgereg.com/267382
I hope you'll consider making a donation of any amount to help me reach my fundraising goal to support this great organization!
Also, please visit our website for more information about the organization itself. https://www.lvobc.org/about-us/
40 in 40
Complete 40 miles in 40 days, Celebrating 40 years of Literacy Volunteers!
Join us anytime between September 1st and October 10th
Registration is $30 and includes a t-shirt and your own fundraising site to share with friends & family
You can log miles in your mode of choice from anywhere in the world - walking, running, biking, skipping...and raise money for a great cause!
This year Literacy Volunteers is celebrating 42 years of providing education to individuals who believe learning is the key to a better future. Our trained volunteers provide confidential, free, one-on-one tutoring to adults in basic reading and writing, and in conversational English for speakers of other languages. Tutors meet with their students every week year-round at the public library in Pittsfield, for lessons that reflect their needs, abilities and goals. Since 1980, thousands of learners have received this personalized tutoring from our volunteers so they have the skills to compete for good jobs, become homeowners and business owners, gain citizenship, and confidently embrace new opportunities.
Our students and tutors usually meet in person, but since that hasn’t been possible because of COVID-19, our dedicated tutors are using a variety of creative ways to continue teaching their students, using technology such as Zoom and other video conferencing tools, smart phones, regular phones, email, regular mail, and combinations of all the above. This is our “New Normal,” and your support will help give our tutors the resources they need so tutoring goes on, when it’s done in person or from a distance.
Donations to LVBC pay for tutor training, books, coordination of services, outreach and, more recently, purchase of online resources for tutoring. Donors have been our partners in building this organization that serves more than 100 learners each year, and that support has kept us strong. If you’re part of the 40 in 40 event you’ll help us continue to provide the resources to teach these motivated adults, whose talents make our community thrive! Please join us!