In the wake of Hurricane Helene, WD Williams Elementary Media Specialist/ Librarian Kassandra Cumming took action to support families displaced by the disaster. With many of them asking for children’s books despite losing homes and belongings, she ​contacted us asking for help.

“We are trying to put books into the hands of our kiddos who are having a tough time right now,” she said. “They are asking for books, filling my heart with joy and my eyes with tears.” 

Her desire to give books to displaced families inspired us to organize a book drive.​ Almost simultaneously,  Heather Childress from Weaverville Primary School and Kyley Byrd​, a BeLoved Asheville volunteer, ​asked us for books for the school and the “buckets of love” distributed among the displaced families living in shelters.

​Since our office was closed, we partnered with The Whale WAVL so they could receive the books. We received hundreds of books that went to Beloved Asheville, Leaf Global Arts, Weaverville Primary School, and Jones Elementary.

Library IQ learned about the drive, contacted us, and offered to donate as many books to W.D. Williams Elementary as needed. ​ The school received 100 books per grade level!

This was an excellent opportunity to build and deepen relationships with local businesses and organizations: The Whale WAVL, Pages for a Fresh Start, The Venue Asheville, Library IQ, local author Constance Lombardo, and BeLoved Asheville. They all played a role in collecting, receiving, and distributing donations.

Also, the Youth Literacy Program interns and our non-tutoring volunteer, Becky, helped with the book distribution!

​We’re so grateful for this community effort and to everyone who donated books!

Our community has been devastated by Hurricane Helene, and our students are among those most affected. For those already struggling with low literacy and language barriers, the path to recovery seems even more daunting.  These are the challenges our students face every day. Do you want to help? You can become a volunteer tutor or donate. Thank you!

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.