Five lucky winners of the restaurant gift certificate raffle to benefit Literacy of Northern NY recently received prizes.

The winning ticket holders are Pat Glover and Mr. and Mrs. Leo Curro of Canton, Dawn Bartow and Jane Amelotte of Potsdam, and Shirley Hendricks of Massena.

A selection of gift certificates valued at about $80 was given to each winner. The certificates were donated by generous restaurants that chose to support the work of the adult literacy program.

Contributors were Thai Cuisine, Pizza Hut, Foxy Roxy’s, the Asian Buffet and Mongolian Grill, Little ltaly, and First Crush and Wine Bistro, all in Potsdam; The Asian Buffet from Gouverneur; Best Western, A-1 Oriental Kitchen, The Club, and Partridge Café in Canton; The Native Harvest Buffet in the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino; and China Doll, Italian Affair, Ponderosa, and Sparky’s in Massena.

The winning tickets were drawn by volunteer tutor Carol Halliday at the Festival of Adult and Family Literacy held at the Potsdam Public Library.

In addition to the raffle drawing, the Festival featured a children’s and adult’s book swap, story time with Dr. Seuss’s Cat in the Hat as reader, board games, tours of the library, and refreshments. More than 100 people participated in the festival, despite windy and uncertain weather conditions that day.

Literacy of Northern NY is a not for profit affiliate of Literacy NY. They train volunteers who then provide free tutoring to adults who want to improve their reading, writing, or math skills, as well as those who are learning English as a second language.

Inadequate literacy skills affect the lives of nearly one out of every five adults in St. Lawrence County. They may find it difficult to obtain a job or to retain that job. Reading nutrition information, understanding the directions given orally by a doctor or other professional, interpreting the written directions for taking medications, or obtaining the information to be a savvy consumer may all prove troublesome. Some adults are not able to read to their young children or to help the older ones with their homework.

The reasons for needing to improve literacy skills are many, but the caring volunteers trained during a free 18-hour course have the skills to provide individual instruction for specific needs and deficiencies.

Anyone interested in more information about Literacy of Northern NY, or anyone who would like to become a volunteer tutor can contact the agency at 265-0194 or lvastlaw@hotmail.com.