JOIN IN THE FUN WHILE SUPPORTING ADULT LITERACY
BE A PART OF LVOY’S BEHIND THE WINES ONLINE FUNDRAISING AUCTION
Literacy Volunteers Ontario Yates (LVOY) is again hosting its Behind the Wines online fundraising auction.
Great prizes including local winery experiences, food, wine, and Finger-Lakes inspired art are up for bid.
The auction is open for viewing now. Bidding is open from April 12 – April 14.
It’s free to register to be an online bidder for the auction, but we hope you will consider attending our ‘Bid & Sip’ event that will close out the auction. It is on Friday, April 14, from 6-8 pm at Anthony Road Winery. The cost is $25 per person and attendees will enjoy refreshments and soft drinks as well as a cash wine bar. Have fun with other wine fans and friends of LVOY as you enter final bids on your favorite items and follow the excitement as bidding draws to a close.
Auction items are grouped into four ‘flights’ with each flight closing at a different time between 6:30 and 7:30 pm on the 14th. If you are not the winning bidder of a favorite item in an early flight, you will still have time to continue bidding on items in later flights!
Please note, you do not need to attend the Bid & Sip in order to participate as an online bidder.
To Find Out More and the Three Easy Ways to get to the auction, Click The Button Below.
LVOY Now Offering Services in Geneva
As of March 1, 2022, LVOY is offering services in Geneva! Staff will be in the lower level of the Geneva Public Library on Tuesdays from 10am – 2pm and other times by appointment.
Geneva area residents who want to improve their literacy – whether they are native English speakers or foreign-language speakers – are invited to explore how LVOY can help them. Learners can get help with:
- Speaking, reading, and writing English
- Studying for their GED
- Preparing for US Citizenship Exam
- Financial and digital literacy
- Refreshing skills for trade exams, professional certifications, and more.
Tutoring services are provided at no cost to the learner.
If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer tutor, training and support is provided.
Donna Crouse, an experienced LVOY tutor, has been hired to staff the Geneva program. Contact her at:
Phone: 585-282-7318
Email: donna.crouse@lvoy.org
Geneva Public Library Lower Level (Tuesdays 10-2)
Or contact LVOY’s Canandaigua office at 585-396-1686 or info@lvoy.org.
LVOY Honored by Canandaigua Chamber of Commerce’s Business Inspiration Awards
On February 11, 2022, LVOY was named this year’s Humanitarian by the Canandaigua Chamber of Commerce as part of their Business Inspiration Awards. LVOY was recognized for our “efforts in opening a world of possibilities to people of all ages by helping them achieve English literacy.”
Liz Searle, LVOY executive director, chatted with Ethan Fogg, Chamber president & CEO, and Michael Mills, vice chair of the Chamber board, at the Fort Hill Performing Arts Center as they recorded the award presentation. The talk show format of the taping provided a chance to speak in depth about the impact of LVOY’s work on our learners and on the community at large. The video can be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/676354652.
LVOY is honored to be recognized along with the recipients of the other Business Inspiration Awards: Auto Wash, Factory 243, Finger Lakes Community College, and 29 Design Studio.
Staffing Changes at LVOY
LVOY is pleased to announce recent staffing changes.
Liz Searle was named Executive Director as of January 31. Liz has been with LVOY since 2018 when she joined the organization as director of fund development and community relations. She has an extensive background in non-profits and has worked in various fund development, public relations, marketing and executive roles.
Donna Crouse joined the staff recently. Donna is an experienced LVOY tutor who has been hired to run the recently launched program located in Geneva. Every Tuesday Donna will be in the lower level of the Geneva Public Library from 10am – 2pm to meet with learners, tutors and those interested in exploring what services LVOY has to offer.
Also, as of February 17, LVOY said farewell to long-time employee Donna Cotter who retired after 10 years of dedicated service to the organization. Donna is well known by many in LVOY and throughout the greater Canandaigua community. She touched the lives of many learners and tutors during her time with LVOY in her various programmatic and management positions. Best wishes to her in her retirement.
Our Mission
The mission of Literacy Volunteers Ontario – Yates, Inc. (LVOY) is to provide adults the literacy skills needed to reach their full potential as individuals, parents, workers and citizens.
Why We’re Successful…
We use highly qualified, committed tutors who are trained in student-centered learning. We provide tutoring that is specifically geared to each student’s particular learning style. We set mutual goals that are realistic and attainable. We offer scheduling that is flexible and accommodating for both the student and tutor.
LVOY is an accredited program of ProLiteracy. Find out more about ProLiteracy here…
How We Can Help
We are an organization that focuses on student-centered learning. This means that we match people who have specific needs with a tutor who will work with them for up to two hours a week to reach their goal(s). The tutoring sessions are held at a mutually-agreed upon location where they can meet confidentially to work on the student’s goals.
For Corporations and Businesses: If you are in search of entry level employees, you may have noticed that there is a large pool of potential employees who lack their high school diploma or GED or lack English speaking skills. You may also have current employees who would be good candidates for promotion but you are unable to promote them due to their literacy levels or lack of GED. We can help you meet the needs of your company by matching these employees with a tutor to help them work toward their literacy goals!
How You Can Help
“There is no greater joy than teaching an adult to read, to share that excitement when everything comes together for your student.”
There are many ways that you can contribute your talents and experience the reward of bringing the gift of literacy to adult learners in Ontario and Yates County.
- Literacy Volunteer Tutor
- Office Volunteer
- Special Event Volunteer
- Annual/Memorial Giving
- Planned/Estate Giving
- Corporate Initiatives
- Fundraising Opportunitites
The Impact of Literacy
Basic Facts about Literacy
- Literacy is the ability to read, write, compute, and use technology at a level that enables an individual to reach his or her full potential as a parent, employee, and community member.
- In the U.S., 30 million people over age 16 — 14 percent of the country’s adult population — don’t read well enough to understand a newspaper story written at the eighth grade level or fill out a job application.
- The United States ranks fifth on adult literacy skills when compared to other industrialized nations.
- Adult low literacy can be connected to almost every socio-economic issue in the United States:
- More than 60 percent of all state and federal corrections inmates can barely read and write.
- Low health literacy costs between $106 billion and $238 billion each year in the U.S. — 7 to 17 percent of all annual personal health care spending.
- Low literacy’s effects cost the U.S. $225 billion or more each year in non-productivity in the workforce, crime, and loss of tax revenue due to unemployment.
Source: ProLiteracy America