Contact: Shannon Houston, Assistant Director

                                                                                                            Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford

                                                                                                            (860) 233-3853  shannon.houston@lvgh.org

               

Collaborative Adult Literacy Program Opens in East Hartford

New Partnership with Literacy Volunteers, East Hartford Adult Education, and United Methodist Church

 

East Hartford – Starting next week, East Hartford area residents who need to improve their English literacy and other basic skills will have a new program to help them reach their goals.  Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford (LVGH) and East Hartford Adult Education recently announced a new partnership with New Covenant United Methodist Church to host basic literacy, English (ESOL), GED, and U.S. citizenship classes for adults. 

The new Wickham Literacy Center will be located in the educational wing of the church, located at 16 Church Street, East Hartford.  A variety of free classes for adults will be offered on weekday mornings, afternoons, and evenings.  Convenient to bus lines, the church has ample parking, recently renovated classrooms, internet access, and is wheelchair accessible.  Literacy Volunteers and East Hartford Adult Education have both hosted classes in separate locations in the city, but leaders say they’re excited about the possibilities that this new, shared space will bring. 

“We are thrilled to partner with New Covenant Church and East Hartford Adult Education to offer adult learners a full continuum of educational services, on a variety of days and times to meet their busy schedules,” said Carol DeVido Hauss, Executive Director of Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford.  “We’re very grateful to the church for being so generous with the use of their facilities to benefit the East Hartford community.”

"We are very excited to start this new partnership,” added Anthony Mangiafico, Director of East Hartford Adult and Continuing Education. “It’s a great location, and enables us to target students who may not have had the opportunity to reach our previous locations. I am very excited to grow our daytime classes and see where this new partnership can lead our organization in the future."

 “Our congregation has invested in making the church building a community resource,” said D. Scott Stewart, Chair of the New Covenant United Methodist Board of Trustees.  “So having a community-based adult literacy and education partnership located in the church makes perfect sense.”   The church’s Mission Chair, Rosemary Bottum, added, “New Covenant has been working hard to develop new relationships in order to learn how to better serve our neighbors, and this wonderful partnership is the outcome of those efforts."

LVGH previously offered ESOL classes at the Wickham library branch, just around the corner from the new location at the church, in addition to its other literacy centers in Hartford and Bloomfield.  East Hartford Adult Education will continue to offer classes and programming at East Hartford High School, 869 Forbes Street, with the new church location serving as a satellite site.

The most recent data available suggests that approximately forty percent of adults in the Greater Hartford region lack basic English literacy skills.   For adults struggling with English literacy, everyday tasks such as helping a child with homework, deciphering a bus schedule, or completing a job application can be almost impossible.

 

Those interested in classes should call 860-233-3853 for more information or to register.  Classes kick off the week of August 25th, but late registrations are welcome. A complete class schedule is available at www.lvgh.org.