Date:

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Start/Finish:

Ventura Unified School District
Parking Lot
255 W. Stanley
Ventura, CA 93001

Time:

7:00am - 4:00pm

Information:

harvestride2008@quixnet.net

Where does the Money From This Ride Go?

The best way to answer that question is to introduce you to some of the students in the Ventura County Library Reading Program for Adults:

Five years ago “JD” struggled to read a first grade storybook.  Today, thanks to the Reading Program for Adults, he reads The Reader’s Digest every month.  Now, this semi-retired business owner is desperately learning to write checks, pay bills, and balance a checkbook: all tasks his ailing wife is no longer able to do for him.

“LR”, a 35-year-old man, has worked reliably at a machine shop for 17 years. He knows the shop is closing and worries that his poor reading skills will prevent him from finding another job.  He lives in fear that his mother will die and there will be no one to help him with day-to-day paperwork.

These men are high school graduates, but because of severe learning disabilities they were never able to master basic reading skills in a normal classroom environment.  They are not alone; 24% of California’s adults are at the lowest literacy levels and need individual assistance in order to become successful readers.

As a child, “DH” moved so frequently that she attended first /second grades at nine different schools.  As an adult, she could read at a basic level but did not know the sounds that the letters represent, and came to the reading program unable to spell even the simplest three letter words.  With the help of her personal tutor, “DH” learned basic spelling rules and is now able to spell accurately on daily tasks.  In addition, her reading skills have improved tremendously and she is excited that she can now read her hymnal.

“SA” and her tutor are studying from her young son’s schoolbooks. She hopes these skills will help her pass the GED so she can get a better job, but for now, she feels it is more important to learn the skills she needs to help her son with his homework.

These women, like all the adults in our program, receive free one-to-one reading instruction from trained volunteers. Tutors meet their students at eight different sites throughout Ventura County including libraries, community centers, two jails, and the California Youth Authority.

Proceeds from the Harvest Ride for Literacy will allow us to purchase books and computer software, and pay a teacher to assess students and assist tutors at each of our locations.