“I found my purpose again”, Meet Kathy!

Kathy had a hard time when she stopped working as a substitute teacher a few years ago. She and her spouse were professional clowns who had just retired from the entertainment world. “I was left with no purpose”, she said. But, when she made the decision to call our office one day to help someone else, everything changed. “I called because I knew someone who had just moved to Appleton and didn’t speak any English at the time. I was shocked to learn that through Fox Valley Literacy I could help this person, who is now one of my students.” Since then, Kathy has been tutoring Sheila, who arrived in America with no knowledge of English and is now beginning to speak complete phrases. Kathy tells us, “I found my purpose again. Volunteering at Fox Valley Literacy has made my world bigger.” Kathy has helped her student Sheila to be more independent and confident at her job, and they have become very close friends. We asked Kathy what she likes the most about tutoring, and she replied, “This organization has been so embracing and made my journey as a tutor so easy, giving me lots of support and resources so I don’t have to figure it all out. The support is at my fingertips.”

Our top priorities are our students and tutors. Like Kathy, many people wish to support our students but often feel that they will be unable to do so. However, the truth is that we will guide volunteers along through the whole process! In addition to initial training, we offer ongoing support to all of our tutors in a variety of ways, including providing curriculum materials and lesson plans, regular check-in calls, and monthly continuing education activities and inservices to help volunteers from any background to excel as tutors!