READ volunteers leave a lasting legacy of literacyAt Your Service, Orange County Employees Retirement System: July 2008
For the thousands of area adults who can’t read the menu at a local restaurant, decipher the directions printed on a medicine bottle or complete a job application, illiteracy is a terrible reality.
But a group of dedicated volunteers and Orange County Public Library employees are helping to make a difference in the effort to provide literacy skills in their community.
Anyone reading this article already has the skills that eluded Brea resident Richard Carrizosa for most of his adult life. But thanks to READ/Orange County, he is writing a much happier chapter now.
Carrizosa and his wife Clara were at the Orange County Fair in the mid-1990s when they walked by an information booth related to recruiting both students (also known as “adult learners”) and tutors for READ/Orange County.
“I have a good eye to see things, but I couldn’t read,” Carrizosa admitted. “When my wife called me to ‘Come back here,’ she told me about the program. That’s how I got involved.”
Fast forward to 2008 and Carrizosa talks fondly of working with several tutors over the past 11 years. “We’re pretty lucky to have a program like this. The opportunity is there if you want it,” Carrizosa said. “I think it’s the greatest.”
Irvine resident Alveris Corson represents the other side of READ’s winning formula. She is a tutor who has helped dozens of adult learners since becoming a volunteer for the program in May 2003. “After I retired, I needed to do something to make life interesting,” Corson explained.
In addition to representing READ at public forums such as the Orange County Fair, golf tournaments and company expos, Corson leads a group of ESL (English as a Second Language) in Costa Mesa and a conversation-focused class at Heritage Park in Irvine.
“It’s amazing what I’ve learned,” Corson said. “The first year I worked with a gentleman one-on-one who had not finished high school. Then I spent the next year with a young woman from China. Her problem was conversation and understanding (American) slang.”
Corson said being a volunteer for READ requires relatively little time, but she encourages other Retirees to volunteer. They will be matched with an adult learner who can meet them at an Orange County Public Library located near their home.
Marcia Tungate, Literacy Programs Administrator for READ/Orange County, said while the Orange County Public Library is truly one of the best library systems in the nation, 350,000 adults are unable to take advantage of the books, periodicals and other research tools available at the library because of low-level literacy or English skills.
“That is the equivalent of the entire population of Irvine, Lake Forest, Laguna Beach, Laguna 7 Hills, Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente,” Tungate said of the 350,000 number.
Since early 2004, volunteer tutor Sandy Hague has been serving READ/Orange County on two fronts, tutoring an adult learner in a conference room at Fountain Valley Library and spending four hours a week helping out at READ/Orange County’s headquarters in Santa Ana.
“It’s rewarding because you’re helping people accomplish what they want to accomplish,” said Hague, noting there are a variety of reasons that adult learners come to READ for assistance.
“My current student just got a promotion at work and I like to think what she learned at our sessions played a part in that,” Hague said. “Helping them (students) is terrific.”
READ/Orange County, the adult literacy service of the Orange County Public Library, delivers its services by training community members to become volunteer tutors who work one-on-one with adults and families who have low level reading, writing and English skills.
“Our catch phrase is ‘Leave a Legacy.’ Richard, by learning to read, can now read to his grandchildren,” Tungate noted.
“Alveris has helped expand the program and she has 24 students. The impact of teaching a person to read is amazing,” Tungate explained.
When asked about Hague, who has provided services as a tutor and with professional services at READ/Orange County’s offi ce, Tungate replied: “I could not have survived without her.”
If you are interested in becoming a tutor, or if you or someone you know needs reading assistance, please call 714-566-3070. You can also visit READ/Orange County’s official Web site by pointing your browser to www.readoc.org or visit your local OCPL branch for more information.
“People who have worked hard all their lives can still help make the world a better place in retirement. People who volunteer with READ are giving from their heart,” Tungate said.
Added Carrizosa: “Today when my wife gives me a grocery list, I can read it."
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