More than 10,000 people in Garland County are functionally illiterate, meaning they can not read at a fifth-grade level, said Laura Lee Williard, executive director of the Literacy Council of Garland County.
The council working to improve literacy statistics in the county. The first step, Williard said, is awareness.
After a period of inactivity, the council has new leaders including Williard, who joined the board last year in June. Now that things are running more smoothly, we are asking the community to get involved, she said.
The first fundraiser the council has sponsored in a long time is titled Literacy, Libations & Lyrics and will be at 6 p.m. Thursday at Whittington Place, 301 Whittington Ave. in Hot Springs.
“It’s more like a ‘friendraiser’ as we want to spread more awareness about what we do and our important role in Garland County,” Williard said.
The Literacy Council of Garland County tutoring services are confidential and free and include one-on-one tutoring as well as online resources and distance-learning programs, Williard said.
The organization also serves those who are learning English as a second language. Other initiatives include the PALS Program (Parents Affect Literacy Skills), a two-hour workshop designed to educate parents on how literacy skills are developed and what they can do outside the school day to help their children build literacy skills.
Michael Garstecki, president of the Literacy Council of Garland County’s Board of Directors, said the biggest hurdle the organization faces is that many people don’t know they exist.
In addition, he said, “We’re trying to bolster our students and tutors and we need funding.”
The Garland County affiliate operates under the auspice of Arkansas Literacy Councils Inc., which is a big funding source for the local organization. Other funding comes from sources such as grants.
Williard writes the grants, she said, and a common component regards community support. In a recent grant the organization earned, the feedback said it needed to have more community fundraising. The Thursday event was established in response.
The council hopes to raise $6,000 with the event, Williard said. “That would bring us the opportunity to bring in three AmeriCorps members, who cost $2,000 each year.”
The AmeriCorps members would volunteer for one year to recruit adult-literacy students and volunteer tutors, Williard said. They would also develop and facilitate volunteer-tutor training, match students with appropriate tutors and provide tutoring services to adult-literary learners in a one-on-one classroom setting.
Garstecki has been involved with the organization for about eight years. He said he was inspired to help by his two daughters who work in education.
“I always thought I would work in education when I was in school, but I ended up working for Chrysler Corp. in Michigan,” he said. “We retired to Hot Springs Village, and shortly after moving here, I saw an ad in the paper about a volunteer orientation for the Literacy Council.”
Garstecki said he has been so moved by the students he’s helped, from a woman from El Salvador learning English as a second language to the sports-loving man who just got by in school and wanted to improve his literacy skills for his sons.
“With the man, I think I got more out of it than he did,” Garstecki said. “He was in a Bible study at church, and when the teacher would call on participants to read a verse, he would always pass. So, he brought his Bible to our sessions and we would practice. He got to where he would raise his hand to volunteer to read in class. That made me feel so good.”
These stories and more will be shared at the event. Williard, a folk singer who tours outside of Arkansas and also performs for educational purposes in schools, will have her guitar in hand and perform a folk concert. A silent auction, adult beverages, hors d’oeuvres and desserts are included in the event.
Tickets are $25 and must be purchased in advance. Visit www.literacycouncil.xyz for more information.