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As a new father in his mid-30s, “Steve” wanted a better life for his son than his own experience—that of working three low-level jobs to make ends meet. But Steve’s job prospects had always been limited by his lack of reading skills. When he contacted Literacy Volunteers of Bangor, says Executive Director Mary Marin Lyon, he was reading at a fifth-grade level.
“He’s gone up two grade levels and now he’s reading to his son,” Lyon says. “He still works at it every day. When he talks about it, he gets all choked up. And now his wife’s involved. Through the process, we learned her reading level was low, too.”
The cost to Steve and his wife for the one-on-one tutoring that has changed their family’s future? Zero. The cost to taxpayers? Zero again.
Established in 1969, Literacy Volunteers of Bangor is one of 14 statewide affiliates of Literacy Volunteers of Maine, serving Maine adults who wish to improve their reading skills. Funding comes entirely from private donations and grants from organizations such as the United Way and the Barbara Bush Foundation. The program is run from a small office in the United Technologies Center on Hogan Road. Lyon is one of just two paid part-time staffers. The rest is done by volunteers.
“Many adults who come to us don’t think about reading for pleasure,” Lyon says. “They need it for everyday life. They may have trouble reading their mail. Health information can be difficult to understand, to the point where they may be mis-dosing themselves.”
Through Literacy Volunteers of Bangor, adult learners within a 20-mile radius of the city are paired with a compatible tutor. “It’s a matchmaking business,” Lyon says. “Breakthroughs happen when there’s a trusted mentor in a person’s life.”
As of December 2007, 115 adults were receiving one-on-one services. Tutors meet with clients once a week, usually in a public place such as a library or community meeting hall. The remainder of Lyon’s 250 volunteers train those tutors and help with administration tasks.
Lyon, 39, is originally from Madawaska but now lives in Bangor with her husband and two young children. (She also has a grown son.) She took over as executive director of Literacy Volunteers four years ago. Prior to that, she served as director of community relations and development for Charles A. Dean Memorial Hospital and Nursing Home in Greenville. “My background is not literacy. It’s public relations, marketing, and fundraising,” she says. She holds a master’s degree in communications from the University of Maine.
About 40% of those her organization serves are native English speakers who “just didn’t learn to read very well,” Lyon says. The remainder are learning English as a second language.
Literacy Volunteers has also helped people with brain injuries, such as the 30-something medical office assistant who suffered a stroke that “pretty much wiped out her slate in terms of reading,” Lyon says. “She chose to look at her disability check as her wages for getting back what she had lost. She’s now reading at a 12th-grade level, and she serves on our board of directors.”
Sometimes Lyon’s greatest challenge is simply getting people to seek help. Once a client becomes involved, she says, “we make sure there’s a sensitivity to the individual’s needs. They’ve already overcome quite a few barriers to make that first phone call.”
A recent recruitment emphasis is on parents of young children. “Two and a half years ago, I didn’t see any young moms,” Lyon says. “I would see them at 40 or 50, when they had hit a wall in their lives. But the single best predictor of a child’s school performance is the mother’s literacy level. You educate the adult, and you’re also helping to educate however many children there are in that family.”
“He’s gone up two grade levels and now he’s reading to his son,” Lyon says. “He still works at it every day. When he talks about it, he gets all choked up. And now his wife’s involved. Through the process, we learned her reading level was low, too.”
The cost to Steve and his wife for the one-on-one tutoring that has changed their family’s future? Zero. The cost to taxpayers? Zero again.
Established in 1969, Literacy Volunteers of Bangor is one of 14 statewide affiliates of Literacy Volunteers of Maine, serving Maine adults who wish to improve their reading skills. Funding comes entirely from private donations and grants from organizations such as the United Way and the Barbara Bush Foundation. The program is run from a small office in the United Technologies Center on Hogan Road. Lyon is one of just two paid part-time staffers. The rest is done by volunteers.
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“Many adults who come to us don’t think about reading for pleasure,” Lyon says. “They need it for everyday life. They may have trouble reading their mail. Health information can be difficult to understand, to the point where they may be mis-dosing themselves.”
Through Literacy Volunteers of Bangor, adult learners within a 20-mile radius of the city are paired with a compatible tutor. “It’s a matchmaking business,” Lyon says. “Breakthroughs happen when there’s a trusted mentor in a person’s life.”
As of December 2007, 115 adults were receiving one-on-one services. Tutors meet with clients once a week, usually in a public place such as a library or community meeting hall. The remainder of Lyon’s 250 volunteers train those tutors and help with administration tasks.
Lyon, 39, is originally from Madawaska but now lives in Bangor with her husband and two young children. (She also has a grown son.) She took over as executive director of Literacy Volunteers four years ago. Prior to that, she served as director of community relations and development for Charles A. Dean Memorial Hospital and Nursing Home in Greenville. “My background is not literacy. It’s public relations, marketing, and fundraising,” she says. She holds a master’s degree in communications from the University of Maine.
About 40% of those her organization serves are native English speakers who “just didn’t learn to read very well,” Lyon says. The remainder are learning English as a second language.
Literacy Volunteers has also helped people with brain injuries, such as the 30-something medical office assistant who suffered a stroke that “pretty much wiped out her slate in terms of reading,” Lyon says. “She chose to look at her disability check as her wages for getting back what she had lost. She’s now reading at a 12th-grade level, and she serves on our board of directors.”
Sometimes Lyon’s greatest challenge is simply getting people to seek help. Once a client becomes involved, she says, “we make sure there’s a sensitivity to the individual’s needs. They’ve already overcome quite a few barriers to make that first phone call.”
A recent recruitment emphasis is on parents of young children. “Two and a half years ago, I didn’t see any young moms,” Lyon says. “I would see them at 40 or 50, when they had hit a wall in their lives. But the single best predictor of a child’s school performance is the mother’s literacy level. You educate the adult, and you’re also helping to educate however many children there are in that family.”
