Literacy in Action building on community
Literacy in Action, the Lennoxvillebased not-for-profit organization focused on providing English Language learning opportunities for individuals 16 years of age or older, held its annual general meeting At Uplands Cultural and Heritage Centre last Wednesday night. The meeting drew a record crowd, with more than forty local community members coming out to hear about and engage with the work of the organization.
The balance of the meeting was focused on the presentation and discussion of the activity report for 2016-17
“We spent the last year exploring how we could reach English speaking members of the Estrie region so they can directly benefit from our services,” said Executive Director Joanna Bateman. “It has been a privilege to explore how we can engage individuals to spark learning moments and design a stage for people to create and seize their own opportunities.”
Now in her second year as director of the organization, Bateman explained that while Literacy in Action is continuing its one-on-one tutoring, resource development, and awareness work, a much greater focus is being placed on community oriented activities that are open to all.
“Everyone is welcome to come as a learner,” the Director said, noting that holding public and accessible activities serves as better outreach for the organization, making Literacy in Action more visible and better able to reach those who are in need of its services. “The goal of these activities is to help our team identify the needs of the individual and the surrounding community,” she added.
Bateman also highlighted the addition of Maggie George and Lawrence Thiry to the organization’s staff in the last year. George has been hired as an administrative assistant to help manage overall operations while Thiry has joined the team as a communications and project assistant.
Following the activities report, Thiry and Bateman unveiled a new logo and website for Literacy in Action, explaining that considerable work is being put into increasing the organization’s public presence in the name of reaching as many people as possible.
“(The new website) is a fresh start,” Thiry said, adding that the redesigned site is at the same web address, http://www.lia-estrie.org/ “It offers an up to date idea of what we’re doing.”
Reflecting on the meeting afterward, Bateman said that she was pleased to see such a large turnout in terms of what it reflects about the engagement of local partner groups and volunteers.
“Partners and committees have been key to the decisions I've made,” the director said. "One of the highlights this past year has been being invited to sit on local, inter-sectorial and provincial committees as an advocate for low-literacy learners and their greater community and by consequence, a representative of English-speaking educational resources for Adults.”
Bateman said that in addition to being engaging, many of those discussions led to new literacy-oriented projects. “I took this opportunity to listen to partners share their experience and ways they are trying to address the complex challenges of rural communities,” she continued. “Their perspectives have informed some of the decisions I’ve made along the way.”
While acknowledging what has been accomplished so far, however, Bateman admitted that there are still challenges ahead.
“It has become clear that Literacy in Action is expected to be able to answer the question, "how do we reach Englishspeaking members?" the director said, noting that the question comes up regularly. “The truth is, I don't know how to reach and appeal to English-speakers over any other group, but I'm pretty sure it starts with offering English-speaking activities and services.”
That challenge in mind, Bateman looked to the coming year with hope for enduring local partnerships.
“This past year has only been possible because of the open minds and hearts of our partners, and the creativity and flexibility of our staff and volunteers," she said.