PRESENTING A CHECK to Dawn Rogers Kroll,
executive director of the Literacy Volunteers of Otsego and
Delaware Counties (r.), is Lillian Alger, Sidney United Way director.

SIDNEYThe Sidney United Way recently made a donation to Literacy Volunteers of Otsego and Delaware Counties. Literacy Volunteers serves to improve literacy rates within Delaware County. In the past, the organization was largely associated with the Oneonta School District

Literacy Volunteers is an autonomous organization that receives limited funding from the New York State Department of Education. The organization receives student referrals from Oneonta Adult Education, CDO Workforce, and Jobs Corps, as well as several other area agencies

It has been estimated that currently 15 per cent of Delaware County residents function below a basic literacy level. To combat this, Literacy Volunteers offers confidential, student-centered tutoring at no cost to the learner.

There are many reasons individuals seek assistance from Literacy Volunteers. They may want to improve their reading skills to help a toddler learn to read, help a child with homework, seek meaningful or better employment or need help with English as a second language.

The Literacy Volunteer program offers instruction in basic reading, writing and math to individuals who are at least 16 years of age and have not earned a high school diploma. English as a second language education helps non-native English speakers.

Financial support from the Sidney United Way, made possible through the generosity of our community members in the United Way's annual fundraising campaign, will help Literacy Volunteers of Otsego and Delaware Counties, continue to purchase tutor training materials and supplies, textbooks, writing journals, and publications geared toward students who read at lower levels, and expand into the realm of digital literacy.