April 2024 Dear Friends of the Literacy Council, I write to you with a heart full of gratitude and a spirit of optimism for the future. After 10 years of service, the time has come for me to retire this summer as Executive Director of the Literacy Council of Frederick County (LCFC). This decision was...
Enter into a conversation with Literacy Council volunteer tutor Hilary Pettigrew and soon you will find yourself taken by her warmth, humor, and of course, that Glaswegian accent. “I’m originally from the United Kingdom, so I always add that when I say that I’m from New Jersey.” The accent gives her away every time. After...
An expectant audience of Literacy Council adult learners, their families, event sponsors, volunteer tutors, staff and members of the Board of Directors came together for a Sixth Edition Book Launch event on February 22nd to celebrate the publication of the Literacy Council of Frederick County’s literary magazine, Reflections: Voices of English Learners. Sharon Jacko, Board...
The Literacy Council is again honored to be one of 36 nonprofit organizations participating in the Unity Campaign for Frederick County, hosted by United Way of Frederick County. The Unity Campaign supports the over one in three households in Frederick County that struggle to afford basic human necessities! The campaign is focused on funding programs directly supporting the...
When Erin Runkles was looking for another way to make good use of her skills as an English teacher in 2021, she came across the website for the Literacy Council of Frederick County. “I knew nothing about it, but I gave it a try,” and three years later, Erin continues as a volunteer with the...
The Winter English as a Second Language (ESL) Book Club at the Literacy Council met for three sessions and enjoyed the poetic words and moving story of Christy Lefteri in Songbirds. It was an edge of your seat read that had elements of literary fiction as well as mystery and suspense. Lefteri, a child of...
We are so grateful for each of our volunteers. If it were not for their tireless work, we could not successfully do the work that we do. One of those volunteers is Cyndi McNamara. Cyndi recently joined as a volunteer tutor in memory of her father, Gene Beall, a long-time tutor. Her own commitment to community service...
Sometimes the best-laid plans do succeed. This certainly is the case for the Literacy Council of Frederick County. Plans to expand its Workplace Literacy Program were given the green light last year in the form of a multi-year grant from the Maryland Department of Commerce, Office of Tourism. The Council finds itself now ready to...
The following Impact Story is being shared from The Community Foundation of Frederick County’s 2023 Annual Report to the Community Fourteen years ago Ana A. moved to the U.S. from Mexico with her husband and son. Since moving to Frederick her family has grown to include two daughters, now ten and 8 years old. There...
When Sharon Jacko was recruited in 2019 as a member of the Literacy Council Board of Directors, she shared a memory of her mother: “{She} taught me the importance of reading at a very early age. I know how many doors were open for me because I could read. With my involvement in the community,...
