POTSDAM – If you would like to make a difference in someone’s life, Literacy of Northern New York offers a five-session training for literacy volunteer tutors on Saturday mornings from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on March 12 and 19, and April 2, 9, and 16 in Potsdam.

Roughly one of five adults in St. Lawrence County have inadequate literacy skills, and might have trouble reading and understanding a newspaper, calculating change they should get when making a purchase, or understanding the instructions given to them by a doctor or on a bottle of medication. These problems lead to difficulties in obtaining or advancing in employment, paying more for purchases than they should, overdosing on medication, and many other negative consequences in their lives.

As an example, there is the story of Travis, who was referred to Literacy of Northern NY by the Youth Employment and Training Program through the One-Stop Career Center in Canton. He needed to improve his academic skills in order to retain and possibly improve his employment, and with the help of his tutor from Literacy of Northern NY, he has strengthened his academics, and not only retained his employment but actually moved into a position with greater responsibility. In fact, he achieved all the goals set for him by the Youth Employment Program and was chosen as student of the month by Literacy of Northern NY for the month of January. In addition, his tutor introduced Travis to karate, and now this young man has already achieved his first belt, raising his confidence himself, which can affect his life in many positive ways.

New volunteer tutors are desperately needed to help people like Travis. Tutors can also provide instruction to adults who have recently arrived in the United States from another country. Their primary need involves understanding the English they hear and being able to speak the language.

No previous teaching experience is necessary to become a tutor.

Once a tutor is trained, their time commitment for tutoring amounts to three to six hours each week. The scheduling of the tutoring sessions is very flexible and arranged at the convenience of the tutor and student.

Current tutors report that they enjoy their time with their students so much that for some the tutoring sessions are the highlight of their week. They find that they learn a great deal from their students and make a new friend at the same time.

Anyone interested in becoming a trained tutor can obtain more information by contacting the Literacy of Northern NY office at 265-0194 or lvastlaw@hotmail.com.