We had another fantastic edition of Authors for Literacy, our signature fundraising event. It was a pleasure to host New York Times bestselling author Lisa See! We are so grateful for everyone who came to support Literacy Together’s mission of changing lives and communities through the power of literacy. 

Special thanks to our adult learners Fernanda (ESOL) and Karima (Adult Literacy), who, accompanied by their incredible tutors, moved us to tears with their courageous, inspiring, funny testimonials.

Thank you, Jesse Kitt Photography, for the beautiful photos, and thank you to Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe for being there!

Watch this video highlighting the most touching moments of the evening. Thank you to Andrew Crespo for this beautiful work. Enjoy!  

To our sponsors: we couldn’t have done it without you! Thank you! Here is our staff; we love what we do, and it shows! 😍

The Youth Literacy Program has had a successful year! Our volunteer tutors and interns worked with 165 scholars throughout the last year, and we are so grateful for their commitment and support. Some of our tutoring pairs will continue their work throughout the summer, and our interns will provide intensive literacy support for scholars enrolled in our partner summer camps.

Our volunteer tutor, Karen, serves at the Christine W. Avery Learning Center and shared, “This has been one of the most joyful experiences of my life! My student has made tremendous progress since February, and I hope to work with her again next year.”

Laurel is one of our interns at Literacy Together. She works at Youth Transformed for Life, and she had this to say: “Literacy Together has been an incredibly valuable experience for both me and my scholar. One of the biggest obstacles we’ve been working through is a general intimidation of reading big words or books. We use a lot of rhymes, pictures, and hands-on activities to break words down into individual sounds in an engaging and memorable way. This past year, I’ve noticed not just his skills improve, but also his patience, receptiveness, and excitement about reading. At the beginning of the year, my student refused to read words with four letters. Now, he dives into words like “hamburger” with no hesitation! Seeing the progress he’s made in such a short amount of time is so encouraging and really shows the power that a little extra help can have on both a student’s academic performance and perception of reading.” 

The Igniting Superhero Readers Summer Internship starts June 17, and we have already hired 95% of our interns for the program. This summer, we’ll work at the Christine W. Avery Learning Center, Youth Transformed for Life, and the YMCA at Johnston Elementary, serving 60+ students across eight weeks. Interns will undergo training in order to deliver 1:1 instruction to young scholars in need of support with their foundational literacy skills.

Our interns will also receive professional development from community partners, including Misfit AVL, First Bank, UNCA Career Center, United 4 Youth, and more. If you know someone between the ages of 15-23 who would be interested in joining our internship program, please encourage them to complete our application before May 31. 

The Youth Literacy Program will also welcome and train new volunteers in September for the 24-25 school year. We will predominantly volunteer in the afterschool programs, but there are other options as well. Sign up to volunteer during the next school year!https://lit-together.org/volunteer-roles-literacy-together/become-a-volunteer/

Learn more about the Youth Literacy Program

We’re so happy for them! Her incredible tutor, J.K., and her church organized a celebration party. There was ice cream, lots of yummy food, cake, and friends. However, our student’s favorite part was communicating in English with her new community!

Our student, who we can’t name for security reasons, came to the United States with her husband and two preschool daughters, fleeing her home country and the Taliban during the great international airlift of August 2021. After stops in Qatar, Germany, and New Mexico, the family arrived in Asheville in January 2022. She had no access to formal education in her home country and did not read or write in her native language. She’s been taking English lessons twice a week since May 2022 and can now help her daughter with homework and be herself at parties and events. She enjoys cooking food for her home country, making beautiful embroidered dresses for her daughters, and creating colorful jewelry. She has big dreams about her family’s future, and we’re sure she’ll accomplish them!

Thank you to her tutor for the continuous support! We love it when she comes to the office to tell us about her student’s small and big wins! Our tutors do so much more than teaching English. They’re cheerleaders, advocates, and friends.

Literacy changes lives! Would you like to become a volunteer tutor to support your immigrant neighbors? Learn more about the ESOL Program and how to become a volunteer tutor. 

After an extensive search, Literacy Together is pleased to announce the selection of its new Executive Director, Amanda Wrublewski. Amanda is a Western North Carolina native. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia when she powerfully connected with the importance of literacy and the inequity of access.

Amanda says, “As Executive Director, I commit to deeply understanding and evaluating our community’s many barriers to literacy. I will dedicate myself to working alongside the Literacy Together team to dismantle those barriers. It will be an honor to learn from a team of experts already doing this work so well while offering my perspective and guidance.”

Amanda was most recently the Vice President of Programs at Big Brothers Big Sisters of WNC, coordinating an 18-county region. Before that, she was the Program Supervisor at Swannanoa Correctional Facility, developing service plans to support and connect incarcerated women with needed assistance. 

Amanda begins her role in July, succeeding Cindy Threlkeld, who has served as Literacy Together’s Executive Director since 2019. Cindy is retiring June 30, leaving Literacy Together an expanded organization through her experience and guidance.

Literacy Together’s Board Chair, Marilyn Cortes, says, “Under Cindy’s leadership, Literacy Together has experienced tremendous growth as an organization by strengthening the four existing core programs; English for Speakers of Other Languages, Adult Literacy, Youth Literacy, and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library® and by developing new programs. We are excited for Amanda to join our team and continue with our mission of changing lives in our community through the power of literacy.”

Literacy Together has served Buncombe County for over 37 years providing free tutoring to meet the literacy and English language needs of people of all ages in Buncombe County. Our vision is for a just and equitable community in which literacy is accessible and achievable by all.

Hi, my name is Zurilma Anuel. I’m from Venezuela, a proud mother of two beautiful girls, and engaged to a wonderful man. I moved to the USA in 1998. 

My oldest daughter was born in Venezuela when I was 21 years old. Soon after her birth, she was diagnosed with spina bifida. Doctors didn’t think that she was going to be able to walk. Of course, I wanted more for her. She needed the best medical care possible, and I thought I could get better medical care in the United States. Because of that, my daughter and I moved to Asheville, NC, when she was two. I could have said that this was “My American Dream,” but I never knew about this phrase until a few years later. I made this decision without overthinking it. I realized that this was my purpose in life; I was put on this earth to love, help, and support my daughter.  

 Over time, I was able to find access to the medical resources needed for my daughter, but at the same time, things were getting more complicated, and I faced more challenges:

I did not speak English – I couldn’t communicate with the doctors to explain what was needed. I knew the interpreters were not telling the story as I could. Doctors were not even looking at me when explaining my daughter’s case. They were looking at the interpreter or the male person in the room (my ex-husband then). I felt invisible and powerless. The language affected not only me with doctors but also with daycare, finding a job, communicating with people, not being able to do any fun activities, and having no friends. Sadly, dealing with people that thought that because I didn’t speak English, I was not an educated person.

The doctors were going to operate on my daughter. I was not convinced of what the doctors diagnosed. I don’t know how or where the strength came from, but I demanded all medical records and searched for the best radiology doctors in the United States. I found a doctor at Miami Children’s Hospital that transformed my daughter’s life.

I am telling you this story because I was scared, but I learned it is ok to be scared when facing challenges. And I will tell you this as truth; We are stronger than we think. I realized that we have superpowers that will show up when we need them and do things we do not believe we can. Why? Because when the need is strong enough and the passion deep enough, we will find our true selves – our superpower – and grow into the people we were meant to be. 

As of now, my daughter is walking – running! She graduated in chemistry from the University of North Carolina; she is in the process of getting into medical school and getting her personal trainer certification.

As for me, I have a second healthy daughter, and through this experience, I grew, and was able to throw off the shackles of fear and self-doubt. Now, I am:

• fluent in Spanish and English
• the Director of a Small Business Administration program that is empowering women in business
• the Founder of the Carolina Small Business Development Fund Latino Business program that is helping the Latino business community in Spanish across the state
• founder of a nonprofit organization ReliefBox that helps people of Venezuela who need food, medicine, clothes, and any other essential needs
• Board Member of Literacy Together, which provides free tutoring for adults, youth, and education to immigrants to learn to read and pass the citizenship test

I will always thank Literacy Together with all my heart for teaching me English as a second language and providing me with the support I needed during these difficult times. Because of them, I am no longer invisible.

I would like to donate and transform lives like Zuri’s!