"What makes tutoring rewarding to me? It is the eagerness and happiness on my learner’s face when he knows he is making progress … It is the many people I’ve met and friendships I’ve found … It is the knowledge that I am sharing my skills to help someone gain skills of their own. It is the hope that this effort that my learner and I are both making will have a positive impact on his life, long after we cease meeting each week," says Marilyn, a volunteer tutor in Read Santa Clara, Santa Clara City Library’s literacy program.

For the past 12 years, Read Santa Clara’s volunteer tutors have helped more than 100 adult learners seeking to improve the basic reading, writing, and math skills they need to do everyday tasks, such as reading to their children, filling out a job application, or reading medicine labels.

More volunteers are needed so that more people in the community can benefit from this effective program. Interested individuals are invited to attend one of the volunteer orientations scheduled for Thursday, March 6, Tuesday, April 8, and Tuesday, April 22. All the orientations will be held 6:30-8 p.m. at the Mission Library Family Reading Center, 1098 Lexington St. No prior teaching experience is needed. The literacy program offers 12.5 hours of training to volunteer tutors. Volunteers are required to commit to at least two hours a week for a minimum period of six months.

"When I came to America, I could not read or write, but I had faith in myself… Now I can write my own name, and can read a few sentences. If you can read and write, no one can fool you or cheat you. Like a baby taking its first steps, I am happy to be starting to read," wrote one learner of her experience with Read Santa Clara. To learn more, call (408) 615-2956 or email: ReadSantaClara@santaclaraca.gov.