My Nonprofit Reviews

Holding the Keys to Literacy
In 1992, I was a VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) Volunteer in Wilmington, Delaware. I was assigned to the Literacy Volunteers of America office, where I recruited adult literacy tutors and adult learners. I assessed adults who needed help with basic literacy and English as a Second Language skills. I recruited and assessed in the community at large and in the men and women's prisons in Wilmington, a city that has recently been dubbed, 'Murder Town'. I took on this assignment, at a time when I was uncertain of my own path, as I entered into adulthood. It was through my many gritty, heartbreaking and inspiring experiences that I committed myself to the teaching profession. It was here I realized that I felt 'called' to teach reading to children. I am committed to helping kids, who are emergent readers. Trouble shooting learning differences and figuring out ways to teach and learn, so that every one of my students is successful, is imperative. I strive to develop inspiring, hands-on lessons that will capture a child's imagination and breed success. READING, is the key to employment. Working with so many adults who were experiencing unemployment, under employment, incarceration and recidivism due to the fact that they could not read. I am now in my eleventh year as an elementary school teacher...who helps to give the gift of reading to children, everyday.