A.K. Smiley Public
Library literacy program receives gifts of service, money
Redlands Daily Facts: 12.19.2015 by Dottie
Podolak, adult literacy coordinator
“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully,
everyone is blessed.” — Maya Angelou
The Redlands Adult Literacy Program at the
A.K. Smiley Public Library has been the recipient of many gifts over the past
five years. Those gifts, of both time and money, have given the program the
resources it needs to make an impact in learners’ lives.
Recently, Redlands Adult Literacy received two
such examples of generosity.
First, over the past two and a half years,
Jennifer Escobar has volunteered as an adult literacy tutor. She discovered the
Redlands Adult Literacy Program through the A.K. Smiley Public Library website
at a time when she was searching for a way to give back to the community.
After being trained as a tutor, Escobar began
meeting with her learner weekly. She said she was impressed with how the
program could make an immediate impact in an adult’s life. She also became
involved in the efforts to support the use of technology in the program.
In September, Escobar had to step away from her
role as a tutor to pursue a full-time position as an English teacher at a local
college.
Because of her respect for the Redlands Adult
Literacy Program and because of the impact it had on her personally, Escobar
and her husband, Curtis Dison, have established the Escobar-Dison Family Grant.
This yearly grant will be used to provide professional development for tutors.
“My two and a half years with my learner has
been a profound experience for me both professionally and personally,” Escobar
said.
“This is a small thing that my family can do to
help that continue.”
The second gift was from the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity at the
University of Redlands. The group chose Redlands Adult Literacy as the focus of
its Week of Service.
During the week of Nov. 2-6, Alpha Phi Omega
held events on the university campus to promote awareness of the adult literacy
program. Members from Alpha Phi Omega volunteered their services by assisting
with the computer literacy class, to help learners gain basic computer skills
such as sending emails and using the Internet. READ MORE @
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