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Oakland Literacy Council

Everyone Has a Fundamental Right to Literacy


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A Desire to Learn

For years, Maurice carried around a heavy secret: he couldn’t read or write as well as he would have liked.

“I never got the attention I should have received in school,” he says now. “I was quiet. I didn’t cause problems. It was one of those situations where they just passed me along.”

Maurice loves to read, despite having a reading disorder.

After high school, Maurice began a career as a heavy equipment operator, which required little reading or writing. When he did have to write schedules or directions for his job, he did the best he could. Penning a personal message for something like a birthday card was a challenge.

One Accomplishment Missing

“I have accomplished a lot in my life,” he says, “but there was always something missing. . . I want to be a better writer, speller, reader.”

As an adult, he recognizes that he struggles with identifying letter sounds and putting those sounds together into words. The more he investigates his symptoms, the more he is convinced that he has dyslexia. This common learning disability is believed to stem from the brain’s difficulty in processing phonemes, the smallest units of speech.

Finally, in 2018, Maurice decided to get help. Because he had been battling leukemia, he had retired early from his job. He reached out to Oakland Literacy Council and received a free tutor.

“Working Really Hard”

Maurice meets his tutor Beth at a public library each week. “He’s an absolutely sweet man,” Beth says of Maurice. “He’s working really hard.”

During their lessons, they spend time on phonemic awareness, or the sounds made by letters. Maurice says he takes home about 20 new spelling words a week to study, and he takes a spelling test on them at his next lesson. Slowly, his vocabulary is expanding. Then he practices using the new vocabulary in writing.

Despite his trouble with words, Maurice says he loves to read. “For a person who has a reading problem, I love to read,” he says. Beth agrees. “He’s got a huge amount of curiosity, and he gets a lot of pleasure from reading.” He has particularly enjoyed a book Beth gave him called Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape our Man-Made World.

“Beth has helped me a lot,” Maurice says, “but it’s going to take more time” to gain proficiency. With his cancer in remission, he has the time. “I’m doing this for me,” he says. “It will make me happy.”

Check out these articles about Oakland Literacy Council!

The Joy of Being a Literacy Tutor
Read between the ‘lions’
Give a little, give a lot
Seeking volunteer tutors

The Oakland Literacy Council is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 tax-exempt entity that relies on the financial support of individuals, businesses, community organizations, and foundations to fulfill its mission. Your tax-deductible financial gift can be made online, by mail or by Donor-Advised Fund. The Oakland Literacy Council also welcomes gifts of Stock and Legacy Gifts.

In celebration of Oakland Literacy Council’s 35th anniversary, we’ve invited students, former students, tutors, donors, and other advocates to share their stories. Read all of their stories here.

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Oakland Literacy Council
Oakland Literacy Council
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Lesley TauroLesley Tauro
12:43 05 Sep 24
I love being a English Tutor with Oakland Literacy Council on a one-on-one basis as well as for a conversation group. Through OLC, I have had the opportunity to meet so many incredible people, many who have become friends.
Cynthia WersteinCynthia Werstein
23:48 04 Sep 24
I have enjoyed my ESL tutoring with Oakland Literacy Council. We received training to help us, help our students. I feel like I can reach out for additional help if needed. Not to forget, they offer outside activities, on occasion, so that the students and tutors can do some typical, but fun activities! OLC is a great organization to volunteer with.
Lisa BurnsLisa Burns
21:33 04 Sep 24
I've been volunteering with the OLC for about a year and a half, and it's been a great experience! I very much enjoy the tutoring sessions with the student whom they paired me with. She is a lovely person and I've learned a lot from her too. OLC makes tutoring easy for volunteers, with an easy-to-use curriculum, training, support, and social events. Highly recommend!
Qambar Ali SarwariQambar Ali Sarwari
19:50 04 Sep 24
Great team, motivational atmosphere, Thank you for your always support and help, especially the refresher training you provide to the tutors.Warm regards ,Ali
Brad RothBrad Roth
19:07 04 Sep 24
When I retired in 2020 (in the middle of the covid pandemic) I wanted to find ways to volunteer. As a former college professor, I am particularly concerned about education and literacy. Working with Oakland Literacy Council has been a wonderful experience for me. The staff at OLC (particularly Laurie Weeks) is so helpful and appreciative. I've gotten more hand-written thank you notes from Laurie in the last four years than from everyone else throughout the rest of my life combined. Volunteering for OLC lets me give back to society but enjoy retirement too. I highly recommend it.
Kelly TurnerKelly Turner
11:12 23 Aug 24
I would like to say How amazing Oakland literacy Council is I came in May To Continue my education and I thank god I found them they where at the bottom of the list when they should have been at the top of the list first off the staff is amazing they did everything by the book I did placement testing to figure out where to place me they took the time out to get the best tutors they also called and checked in on me and also motivated me to keep going and never give up they gave me the option to go online for tutoring or in person Stewart my tutor was amazing he took pride in educating me and never made me feel like I was bothering him patricia was amazing she stayed on me and stayed consistent they made me feel like familythe icing on the cake was how they acknowledged me on graduation day the whole team was there for me and my family and I was so happy and me and my kid's could feel the love it's nothing that I would not do for Oakland literacy I will be there spokesperson for life cause it's worth it and they have top notch tutors employees and the online tutor services is Phenomenal if you're seeking to continue your education look no more this is the place to go
Sanghee HanSanghee Han
11:59 22 Aug 24
I was so lucky to meet oakland literacy Council. Since OLC has been a great institute for me almost 2 years. And they helped my english improve and give me some good talking classes for learning new culture here as well. Now that I graduated from a reading program at OLC, I feel like I'm still with them. Really appreciate it.
BAIYANG LAIBAIYANG LAI
19:36 15 Aug 24
In the past three years I learned English with Oakland Literacy. I met quite a few tutors in one by one tutoring and some conversation groups. Those tutors were so incredible and awesome! They really really helped me a lot in my English. My gratitude to all of them is beyond words!
jung min sonjung min son
17:36 15 Aug 24
Thank you for having me with your excellent support.. I really enjoyed learning English and having conversation class with others. I made some good friends and I think Oakland Literacy Council is very good for people who need English support 👏 👍
Joseph Lee (Jo)Joseph Lee (Jo)
16:39 15 Aug 24
Oakland Literacy Council was a very good program for me as my second language. I evaluated my English ability through English listening and reading tests and matched my tutor accordingly. As a result, my English improved a lot. And most of all, it was free.
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OAKLAND LITERACY COUNCIL 51111 Woodward Ave., Suite 720, Pontiac, MI 48342

(248) 253-1617, info@oaklandliteracy.com

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