Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe

PROGRESS REPORT

The 2010 United States Census indicates that in Santa Fe County 34% of adults are functionally illiterate and 32% speak only limited English. This means that a large percentage of Santa Fe County residents are unable to read this.

Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe is the only organization in Santa Fe that directly addresses this issue. In our last fiscal year (July 2011–June 2012) LVSF served:

424 students, who received 11,496 hours of tutoring from 143 volunteer tutors.

The Federal government values the economic impact of these hours as $250,498, but there is no way to truly measure the impact of literacy on individuals, their families, and our community. For example, we’ll never be able to calculate a child’s success in school because a parent can now read to that child.

Here are some statistics on our various program components:

• 316 students received a total of 8,892 hours of tutoring in English as a Second Language at 45 workplace, neighborhood and community sites.
• 29 students received 874 hours of tutoring to pass their citizenship exams in English; 9 have already become U.S. citizens.
• 108 students received 2,604 hours of tutoring in Basic Literacy; 50 of these students advanced one or more levels in reading skills and 49 met their goal of reading more to their children.
• 44 students, who set a goal of finding jobs succeeded, and 89 students got a promotion or a better job.

Despite substantial growth in our programs, there is still a huge portion of the population that we are not reaching. It is only through the generous support of our donors that we will be able to expand our programs and reach a larger portion of the population in Santa Fe County that needs our services.