Steve Frey
Did you ever wonder what it is like to not be able to read or write? It is estimated that 11 percent of the adults in the New River Valley cannot read. That’s 11 percent of our neighbors.
Here is an inspiring, short passage from Juliette Rowland, who at one time could not read. It is called “Four People in My Life”:
“Jesus Christ is first, he is there all the time. He has helped me through praying, going to the right church, Refuge Temple Church, and the love of the Saints. In Sunday school I read the word.
“My sister, Sheila, has helped me with my needs—money, a place to stay, encouragement. She says to me ‘you can make it.’ She always showed me her love and showed me that she understands the hurt in my life.
“My son, Kevin, has seen my hurt and disappointment. My brother kicked me out and my son said, ‘Mama, it is going to be all right.’ He is an inspiration to me. He is willing to help me and told me, ‘I know you can do it.’
“What motivated me is that I want to make a change in my life, through the help of these other people. I want to read Cinderella to my granddaughter, Amaya. I can tell her stories, but I want to read her a book. I want to get my driver’s license, my GED, and start a daycare business, and get my own car and my own house. I want to help people because I have had help from people.”
Juliette can now read and write because of Literacy Volunteers of America. In her last paragraph, she said, “I want to help people because I have had help from people.” Someone joined Literacy Volunteers and decided to help another person have a better life—in fact, a completely transformed life—Juliette’s life.
None of us who possess the gift of reading can understand what it is like to go through life without that benefit. There could be no reading of directions; no helping children with homework; no reading menus; no checking out a possible illness online; no reading want ads; no recipes—nothing. So much in our everyday lives revolves around reading, and without it, life is a daily struggle.
There are all kinds of reasons for someone not being able to read. Sometimes it has to do with constantly moving and missing enormous amounts of school before dropping out. Sometimes it is because of a learning disability. Some may be learning English as a second language. Some just got lost in a school system that didn’t have the resources in the past to help.
That last scenario related to schools is why our teachers work so hard to make sure every child succeeds. That’s also why you read so much about programs like Readers from Birth and READy of Kindergarten that promote parents reading for at least 15 minutes every day with children before they start school and keep reading together once they’ve begun. Our schools are making sure that every child leaves school with reading and writing skills that will help them to be successful in life, no matter what they choose as an occupation.
But what if a teacher or principal asked the parents to read those 15 minutes every day with their child at a Back to School meeting, and the parents couldn’t read. It would be frustrating and depressing for them because they would feel like they were letting their child down, or worse, that the child would have the same difficulties with reading that they did.
You can help change those kinds of situations by supporting Literacy Volunteers of the New River Valley, a free program designed to help adults with reading. There is a Scrabble Night for Adult Literacy coming up on April 4 from 5:30—8:30 pm at Great Road on Main, 100 W. Main Street, in Christiansburg. It is co-sponsored by the Radford News Journal and the Christiansburg News Messenger. All proceeds will benefit adult and family literacy programs in the New River Valley. To find out more about Scrabble Night, to volunteer with Literacy Volunteers, or to make a contribution, call the Literacy Volunteers of the New River Valley at 540-382-7262 or go online at www.lvnrv.org.
Don’t pass up this Scrabble Night chance to join the fight to promote literacy! The tickets are inexpensive, and there will be delicious food, lots of fun and tons of prizes. Best of all, you will be helping people like Juliette Rowland and so many of our neighbors learn to read so that they can navigate through the world successfully and, just as meaningfully, be able to read that Cinderella story to a grandchild like Amaya.
Reading is a gift of immeasurable value, and Literacy Volunteers freely share it!
Won’t you help?
Steve Frey is a writer and CEO of Ascendant Educational Services based in Radford.