President’s message

by Pam Iype

It’s an exciting time to be President of LLC, and I’m looking forward to working with our National Board and our staff to implement strategies that will allow LLC to thrive.

As President of LLC, and as a longtime Laubach tutor and trainer, I believe that literacy is a basic human right.

While the economic fabric that holds individuals, families, communities and our country together will be strengthened by improved literacy, our organization’s strength is in providing literacy skills to people who are not always part of the paid workforce. This is where Laubach methods, which are basic and personal, can really make a difference.

The release of new literacy statistics tells a tale in numbers. I know that numbers are important. I also know that behind every number is a human being with hopes and dreams. We would not be working with students if we did not believe in their potential. We do it with faith, hoping that we can help them make their dreams come true.

I know that with hard work and everyone’s cooperation, our national organization can also make its dreams come true.

Executive Director’s message

by Gay Hamilton

Over the past few years, LLC publications have documented the organization’s strategic planning efforts and the tremendous contribution of volunteers to this process.

We hope that readers of this newsletter are getting a clear sense of the new direction LLC is taking and of the many changes happening in the areas of training, student support and our relationship with our grassroots.

LLC is now implementing a long-term action plan. Staff is working hard to keep pace with an ambitious timeline. Issues which will be our focus this year are: 1) promoting our national profile 2) diversifying the funding base 3) finalizing the training and certification update 4) bringing tutor training on-line 5) connecting more widely with the literacy community, and 6) supporting the national Student Caucus.

At the request of Minister Bradshaw, LLC is also participating, with other national literacy groups, in the development of a national literacy strategy. We hope that our collective efforts will be useful to the Minister when she prepares a memorandum to Cabinet in September. Hopefully, her interventions will result in the first major changes to the literacy strategy in Canada since the National Literacy Secretariat was created in 1987.

New student brochure supports work of Student Caucus

by Gary Porter, National Student Representative

I was elected National Student Rep for 2005-2007 in June in Moncton, New Brunswick. I look forward to working with the Board of Directors, and with the Student Caucus that elected me to this position.

One of the first things that the Student Caucus wanted to do was to create a new student brochure to help Literacy Councils attract students. Staff at the National Office helped to get the brochure ready based on ideas from the Student Caucus. In early August, all members of the Caucus were asked for their comments on the draft brochure.

If you are a Laubach student, and have feedback about the new student brochure, please feel free to contact me at 1-877-872-8685.

I’m also excited about International Adult Learners Week. It will happen from September 8-14. See page 6 for more information.