THE CENTER IS CHANGING LIVES AND THE NEED IS GREAT
SOME PROGRAMS PROVIDE JUST A BAND-AID, BUT THE CENTER CREATES REAL LIFELONG CHANGE
As is tradition when we near the end of the year, we want to share the Literacyworks Center's 2020 accomplishments and our students with you and ask for your continued financial support.
It takes $3,000 a year to enable a Center student to reach their goals and stay in school for a full academic year. We do whatever it takes to help our adults succeed in college, but we can't do it without you. Your gift of any amount creates meaningful change for our students, families, and their communities. All of our adults are low-income, low-literacy members of our community and are the first in their family to go to college. Many are parents. Their perseverance in reaching their educational goals encourages their children to excel in school and follow their example to attend college.
THE LITERACYWORKS CENTER
2021 will be the Center's 6th year of operation. Some of our Center's accomplishments to date are:
• Enrolled 110 students each semester at Santa Rosa Junior College, 90% being Latino.
• Provided $942,00 Adult Literacy Awards scholarships* to over 781 low-income, low-literacy students
• Achieved less than a 10% dropout rate each semester (90% retention), well under the 60% average dropout rate for community colleges for this at-risk population
• Increased acceptance by our students to certificate and associate programs and even four-year college programs. As of Spring 2020, our graduates have achieved 15 (AA/AS associated degrees), 13 transfers (to 4-year universities UC Berkeley, UCLA, Sonoma State, Sac State, among others), 60 certificates, and 52 GED completions. *All Adult Literacy Awards scholarships come from a family foundation and go to benefit our students. No scholarship funding is used for program funding
Center students tell us repeatedly that they work hard and persist because they know that someone is ready and willing to invest in their future. With your support, we make a difference in families' lives, as reflected in notes from our students.
We are asking you to support our students. With your donation, you will help Center students reach their goals and stay in school for a full academic year. We do whatever it takes to help our adults succeed in college and invest in their future, but we can't do it without you. Your gift of any amount creates meaningful change for our students, families, and their communities.
Please go to our Donation page at http://www.literacyworks.org/donate to help our students succeed. Literacyworks has been determined a 501 (C)(3) organization by the IRS (EIN: 94-3396412).
A WORD ABOUT THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON OUR STUDENTS
Our low-income students are among the most vulnerable in our community when suffering during a disaster.
During this last fire, SRJC was closed for a week. Now our students have to adapt to attending classes completely through technology because of the pandemic. Many of our students are suffering a loss of income and housing. Our staff offer additional support services to ensure they stay in school and complete their course of study. We are proud that most have persisted and remained.
The pandemic's stress and costs take a physical and psychological toll on all of our students. During our student interviews, we have found that health literacy and health access is one of their top concerns. In response, we are holding Health Resources workshops for our students in collaboration with SRJC Student Health Services and The Petaluma Health Center. Students learn about accessing and utilizing healthcare resources on campus and in the community, including mental health services.
So thank you for supporting our students with your donation. You are making a difference in their lives with your gift.
LITERACYWORKS CENTER
The Center's staff provides a variety of programs and workshops to support our student's success.
The centerpiece of this effort is conducting a one-to-one interview with all students. In this context, we learn more about the challenges, needs, and frustration facing our students. We then can attempt to address their needs with a more personalized approach.
Since all connection with our students is remote due to the pandemic, we initiate our one-to-one interviews via Zoom.
We will use a set of interview questions and attempt to start a supportive conversation to maintain our friends' close relationship. We will report back to you next month on how this effort has gone. Thank you for your interest in our students and our program.
