Literacy Volunteers of Eastern Connecticut

A Brief History of LVEC

Our organization was founded in 1978 in New London and in 1997 merged with the Literacy Volunteers of Norwich and now serves all of New London county. The original mission was to teach basic literacy skills to English-speaking individuals sixteen years of age and older who could not read or write. The major influx of immigrants to Eastern Connecticut has drastically changed the services we are called on to provide. Today, fewer than 10% of our students are engaged in basic literacy skills and over 90% are learning English as a second language. We are an affiliate of, and accredited by, ProLiteracy America.

Our goals are very simply to recruit and train volunteer tutors who can teach English language and basic literacy skills to those who request our services. We engage in partnerships with other organizations, particularly with adult and continuing education programs in our area, to offer a wide range of programs to our students. As our students gain proficiency in speaking, reading and writing English, they are able to move on to better employment, obtain a driver's license, open a bank account, purchase a car, purchase a home, and participate more fully in what our country has to offer them. Without the assistance we give them, many would be turning to our already overtaxed social welfare system.

The population we serve is immigrants, over the age of sixteen years, who arrive here seeking employment and an improved lifestyle. They are typically very committed to working hard to survive, and thrive, in their new endeavors here. Some come because other family members have moved to the area, but many arrive with no support system to help them along. They are largely our "working poor" and are held back because of their inability to communicate and use the English language. Many arrive with children and until they develop some English proficiency are unable to participate in decisions on education or medical care for their children.

Given the recent change in the demands for our services from teaching "basic literacy" to teaching "English to speakers of other languages" (ESOL), we have completed a total restructuring of our professional staff and have embarked on an intensive training agenda to retrain current volunteer tutors and to recruit and train new tutors. The request for our services is constant - "our phone rings every day" with requests for help.

The work our tutors do goes well beyond just teaching English. A bond develops between the tutor and the learners, and the tutor is a resource to the student in the challenges they face in daily living in their new environment. Our tutors become involved in "life issues" being faced by their students, such as finding employment, opening a bank account, applying for citizenship, and obtaining a driver's license. While learning to speak, read and write English is our main focus, these "life issues" are very important to our students as well.

Many of our students are those who need very basic skills which cannot be learned in a large classroom setting. They require one-on-one tutoring or participation in our small "conversation groups." We work closely with Adult and Continuing Education programs of New London and Norwich. We encourage our students to participate in programs provided there when they have achieved a level where they can benefit from these programs. We receive referrals from the adult education programs where students are falling behind and need more individual attention. Too often a student who is falling behind in these programs is in danger of giving up the program if individual help is not available.