The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Literacy Programs in Action By Helen Thompson 0 you like to read? How many times daily do you use your reading skills to read your child a story. follow medi< cation instructions, or read a newspaper article? What would your life be like if you couldn’t read or had great dif- ficulty reading? Lack of literacy skills have a devastatâ€" ing impact on the lives of the young and old in our commu- nities. Literacy education is recog- nized as an important priority by the govemrnent. Under the funding umbrella, groups such as the Ontario Literacy Coali- tion (OLC) and Literacy Link Eastern Ontario (LLEO) advo- cate for literacy programs. Tutor training workshops, ieamer workshops and ongoâ€" ing board development offer a valuable resource to all literacy groups. I was elected as a board member to the Quinte Literacy Group (QLG) in 1991. Quinte Literacy was organized in Septem- ber 1987 under the guidance of Leona Henry, Belleviile‘s Chief Librarian, who recognized the need for a literacy program in the community. During my term, the Board faced many challenges drafting a revised constitution and a Policies and Pro- cedures Guide. There are a number of programs in place within the Quinte Literacy Group. The Oneâ€"to-One Literacy Program is the main- stay of the QLG. The Coordinator of the program facilitates tutor-learner matchery, recruiting, tutor workshops and ongoing board development Growth in the Farnily Literacy Program is strong, with many volâ€" unteer tutors and preschool and school» age children matches. “The Born to Read Program” is offered every summer; it is an eight-week program for young expectant mothers and mothers with infants, “Books and Best Friends" match volun- 10 Home 5 Country, Fall '93 The President of the Quinte Literacy Group, Maria Branscombe (right), presented Helen Thompson (left) with a Certificate of Appreâ€" ciation for her eflorts with the literacy programs. teers with children experiencing reading and writing difficulties. A summer school~ age tutoring program operates during the months of July and August to help students and learners at risk. And a pre-school pro- gram for Housing Authority families is also working well. A new literacy program for the Quinte Literacy Group began in February, 1993 - the Women’s learning Project, Twenty- one women participate in five groups that meet around issues - women‘s, tenant's, human rights, and life skills. Reading. writing and math skills are built into the support services offered. As you can see literacy programs are available for everyone, whatever their age! I found tutoring in the Workplace Entry Level Learning (WELL) Program very challenging. My learner arrived at class after finishing the night shift at his work- place. It was 8 am. and we started our class with coffee. I followed a learner based approach to developing his program and we covered math, writing skills and read- ing upgrading. My client was relucmnt to read orally, so we used the Dyad or Paired Reading Method to read together. Unfamiliar words were added to his vocabulary list and he developed workable dictionary skills. We used his workplace manuals, invoice forms and daily journals as practice work. Soon he was able to fill out requisition forms and write job reports. I still re- member tire day he met me at the front door and said with a big grin: “I just got a raise and it’s because I've learned to read and write." What a great feeling I had - I had made a friend and taught him to improve his literacy skills in writing, math and read- ing. in return, he taught me to have a healthy respect for leamâ€" ing. Yes, literacy is everyone's right! Would you like to get involved with ,‘ literacy group? Call the Read Line at 1- 800-465-7323, sponsored by Literacy Link Eastern Ontario. They will give you the phone number of your local literacy group. Go ahead, help someone learn to love reading! Helen Thompson is a Board Member of the Quinte Literacy Group and Board Director for the Junior Women's Institutes of Ontario. A Good Idea! All life members in Ontario and Canada who are in possession of a Life Membership Certificate should give the serial number to their Branch Secretary.The Secretary can then record it in the front of her book which will eliminate problems for District Secretaries after the mem- ber has deceased. Submitted by Florence Gale, Waterloo North