Annual Lamplighter Campaign

Do you take your ability to read for granted? Imagine what kind of life you would be living if you were unable to read! Illiteracy is one area where we can and do make a big difference - and we do it one student at a time. Metaphorically, each adult student is a “lamp” to be lighted and a contribution to light a lamp for literacy is a symbol of your commitment to help us eradicate illiteracy. Our plea to you is to help us reach out to your friends and neighbors by making sure they are all literate. Our program covers the 1,275 square miles of Pike and Wayne counties with trained volunteers who work one-on-one with adults to improve their reading skills. We provide free services to adults with no reading skills, limited skills, limited knowledge of the English language and those wishing to attain the equivalent of a high school diploma. We also provide volunteers who are willing to work in county correction facilities in order to help inmates obtain GEDs and/or to facilitate their smooth transition back into society. While we continue to be supported by state funding, rigid funding requirements do not always allow us to reach every adult who enters our doors for help. By donating to our program you will help us fill the gap for those students and volunteer tutors who cannot meet the required yearly level gains or hours requirements due to their employment hours, availability, wintry road conditions etc. Some of these students have been with their volunteer tutor for over five years and have made significant progress with their reading ability. These students have been able to vote by themselves for the first time in their lives, read a menu or a street sign and have overcome a lifetime of low self-esteem due to their inability to decode the written word. Please become a Lamplighter for Literacy in 2009 by responding to our Lamplighter Campaign letter or calling our office at 570-253-3221. Jacci West, Executive Director Wayne Pike Adult Literacy Program