FARMINGTON – Celebrating 40 years, Literacy Volunteers continues to thrive in Franklin County, recently expanding services to the Jay, Livermore, Livermore Falls area.
Next month the program will partner with Spruce Mountain Adult Education offering a literacy center to locals. The center will be a space for tutors to meet with students, hold events for the organization and offer free books through the Traveling Libraries program. Currently the program serves 92 people in eight towns and has distributed 48 new books to participants in their New Books/New Readers club. Tutors and students work on things such as learning how to vote, read a recipe, correspond with health care providers and understand prescription labels.
In addition to their expansion geographically, a space donated by St. Joseph’s Church in Farmington will allow program coordinators to organize book donations for the Traveling Libraries and offer a central location for the libraries to restock their shelves. The Traveling Libraries now have eight locations across Franklin and Somerset counties. The program has distributed over $55,000 worth of books to homes across the region.
The Traveling Libraries stress the importance of books being in the lives of every resident. Alongside this program, Literacy Volunteers operates the Bring Books to Life program with children at Head Start centers. Roughly 16 families whose children attend the center have received 270 new books to read at home. The books are made available by United Way of the Tri-Valley area and a private donor.
A public supper and silent auction will be held Oct. 26 at 5 p.m. at the Henderson Memorial Baptist Church to benefit Literacy Volunteers.
To become a board member, or a volunteer, contact Executive Director Barbara Averill at literacyvolunteersfs@gmail.com or 500-3131.
