Literacy Volunteers of Massachusetts

CONTACT:

15 Court Square - Suite 540
Boston, MA 02108
617-367-1313
www.lvm.org

Roberta Soolman, Executive Director

DESCRIPTION:

Illiteracy is a key factor in many societal problems--chronic poverty, homelessness, unemployment, crime, poor preventive health care, and low reading skills among children of parents who read poorly. Promoting literacy is therefore a potent way to address those problems, and a necessity for helping people to help themselves. For Massachusetts it is especially important, because our economy requires one of the most skilled and educated workforces in the nation.

More than 1.1 million workers in Massachusetts lack basic reading skills necessary to perform in the changing economy. While government can offer adult literacy programs, it cannot require adults to use them or to use them successfully; philanthropy is needed to help those who are falling through the cracks.

Established in 1972, Literacy Volunteers of Massachusetts recruits, trains, matches, supports, and supervises tutors, free of charge, to work one-on-one with 1,000 adults who want to learn to read. Affiliated with ProLiteracy Worldwide, LVM is self-supporting. It maintains 11 local programs based mainly in public libraries and homeless shelters in 12 communities across the state. Its one-to-one tutoring system has proven effective, particularly where all else has failed. It now wants to add another 100 students to the program, at a cost of $500 each. Please help.

(1998: HUMAN SERVICES: Children and Youth: General)