Center for Literacy, 40 Years Building a More Literate Workforce
Submitted by: Cymantia Tomlinson-Bey, Public Relations Associate,
Center for Literacy
The word literacy conjures up many images; school, books, children, among others. However, its correlation to successfully competing in a global economy is sometimes overlooked. According to the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board, nearly 67 percent of the city’s adults are considered low literate. These adults lack the basic skills needed to qualify for most of the jobs available. The success of a business is measured by its productivity, so the skills of its workers affect its bottom line and its ability to grow. Fifty percent of adults have problems performing everyday tasks, said the Educational Testing Service in Princeton. To compete effectively in today’s technological age we must build a more literate workforce. The Center for Literacy has created various programs to strengthen the literacy skills of adults and out-of-school youth in Philadelphia and surrounding areas for 40 years.
Adult learners and out-of-school youth come to CFL for various reasons and come from diverse backgrounds. However, they all share one common denominator, motivation to improve themselves and the lives of their families. This improvement comes in the form of increasing reading levels, preparing for their GED exam, learning English, or sharpening their reading and math skills for entrance into a post-secondary educational program. The Verizon Literacy Summit in 2005 published a report stating there were not enough young people in the educational pipelines to fill the nation’s workforce in the coming decades. Recently, the national high school drop-out rate has come under public scrutiny. As a result, employers are going to find it increasingly difficult to attain qualified applicants for jobs.
The good new is...there are steps those in the business community can take to help. One way members of the business community are helping is by volunteering as tutors. The impact our tutors have is illustrated by the following statement written by a CFL student; “Now a whole new world has opened up to me because I have the tools and confidence I never had before. Here I am approaching 50 years old and I am thinking about going to college.” There are many stories like this one told by CFL students, whose lives have drastically changed as a result from tutoring they’ve received at one of CFL’s learning sites.
The Center for Literacy has launched its Corporate Volunteer Tutor Campaign and is reaching out to the Philadelphia business community to partner with us by becoming volunteer tutors. CFL asks for a six month commitment and provides all materials, training, and support needed.
The Center for Literacy is the nations largest and Pennsylvania’s oldest community-based adult literacy organization, serving almost 5,000 learners in more than 100 locations, last year alone. For more information on our tutoring program, please go to www.centerforliteracy.org. To become a volunteer tutor please call our tutor help desk at (215) 474-1235 or e-mail CFLTutor@centerforliteracy.org.
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