Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 8, Issue 7, July 2004

Copyright 2004 Seattle Sun. Please feel free to use the article below in your research. Be sure to cite the Seattle Sun as your source.

Literacy Source helps people learn to succeed

By JAMES BUSH

Gaining the ability to speak and read English is a necessary step in reaching one's career goals, but adults who need these skills often aren't served by our current educational system.

That's where Literacy Source steps in.

The Fremont-based nonprofit organization has been providing training in literacy and life skills since 1985. With the help of a staff of about a dozen people, five part-time instructors, and an army of volunteers, the program runs programs in adult basic education, English as a second language (ESL), computer instruction, and support groups and instruction for recent immigrants, says executive director Anne Helmholz.

Set up in 1985 by VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) volunteers, the Literary Source program was first housed in Phinney's St. John Lutheran Church before moving to the Greenwood Library building for a dozen years. That building was closed and demolished to allow the construction of a new library building, so Literacy Source relocated to the heart of downtown Fremont in July 2002, to a storefront just across the street from the Fremont Library.

Helmholz notes that the purpose of the VISTA program was to help set up continuing community organizations. It sure worked in this case: Helmholz came to the program herself as a VISTA volunteer back in 1986. The group, formerly affiliated with Washington Literacy, split off from its parent group to become a registered non-profit organization in 2001.

Literacy Source offers a wide range of programs, including workplace literacy programs which it runs for local businesses. Often workers have the ability and experience to do the job, but their lack of literacy skills can create a safety risk, says Helmholz. "They might have great skills for carpentry, but they're not so sure about things to keep them safe on the job."

American Seafoods is one local employer which has turned to Literacy Source for help. "When the ships come in we have a class here to help people from other countries who have the skills but they don't have the English to improve their jobs," says Helmholz.

Helmholz describes program clients as people in transition: whether in the process of moving from low-wage jobs to more rewarding work, or learning how to survive in a new culture.

Computer training is another key focus for Literacy Source. In our technology-dominated society, computer literacy is now considered as basic a life skill as balancing a checkbook, she says.

Literacy Source also runs several programs catering to recent immigrants, including tutoring, small group instruction, and workshops on community resources, legal issues, and money management.

The organization also runs the tutoring programs for male and female inmates at the King County Jail.

As so many of its programs feature one-on-one instruction, Literacy Source volunteers outnumber the total students, notes Helmholz. Up to 450 volunteers work with more than 300 program participants annually. Volunteers also staff the group's board of directors, manage the office during evening sessions, and organize the annual fundraising breakfast, which was held this year on June 2.

This year's event also featured presentations by three Literacy Source program participants: Laura Gonzalez, a transplant from Mexico who improved her English speaking by participating in the "Talk Time" discussion program; Alysia Williams, a Seattle native who used the program to improve her math and computer skills; and Natalia Castano Giefer, a recent arrival from Columbia who has participated in the ESL program.

In addition to fundraising events and private donations, Literacy Source obtains much of its funding through federal pass-through funds disbursed by the Washington State Office of Adult Literacy. Its staff includes several volunteers from the Americorps program.

Literacy Source is settling in to its new home in the Fremont neighborhood by partnering with local organizations. While the Fremont Library is closed for renovations, its first Tuesday night book club will meet at the Literacy Source office. The Toastmasters are setting up a Monday morning public speaking group which will also meet there.

"You don't get along without partnerships and community," says Helmholz.

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Literacy Source is located at 720 N 35th St., Suite 103; 782-2050.