Students Reap the Benefits of ProLiteracy Grant Offerings

Chinese immigrant Xiao Yang has a shot at earning her high school equivalency degree thanks to support from the Michigan-based Swartz Creek Virtual Learning Center.

Xiao came to the United States when she was 11. Because she was needed to help her family financially by working in a restaurant, she left school after the sixth grade.

Now as an adult with a son at Penn State University, she was inspired to focus on her own education and entered the Adult Ed Voyager program with Swartz Creek Virtual Learning Center. Working long days at the restaurant, Xiao often can’t study until after hours.

With a grant from our Mobile Learning Fund, Swartz Creek Virtual Learning Center was able to set Xiao up with a license to Learning Upgrade so that she can study when it fits her schedule. The progress she’s made using the program solidifies her resolve to reach her goal.

Through the Mobile Learning Fund, Literacy Opportunity Fund, and National Book Fund, we are providing adult education programs nationwide with the resources they need to give students the chance to improve their lives.

In Watertown, NY, Literacy of Northern New York, Inc. leveraged a grant through our Literacy Opportunity Fund to support an already tight budget and ensure its students weren’t getting short changed. Marie Saint Val, a Haitian immigrant, improved her English language skills a full NRS level, obtained a job a McDonalds, got a driver’s permit, and continued to attend class. At the suggestion of her tutor, Marie attended job fairs, and this August she was offered a position as a nursing assistant at a hospital in Watertown.

Because adult education programs are traditionally underfunded and struggle with limited resources, our grants are helping programs breathe a sigh of relief knowing that they can provide their students with access to the best tools.