Bestselling Author Dawn Tripp Headlines Literacy Services' Love of Literacy Luncheon
- Vero Minute
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
On March 13, Literacy Services of Indian River County held their annual Love of Literacy luncheon with nearly 180 people in attendance.
One in three Indian River County residents struggles with basic literacy, which Literacy Services has been working to solve since 1971, on private funding alone, out of a donated office in the county library.
This year's numbers were reason to celebrate: 207 tutors, 416 students, 11,400 hours logged. Nearly 1,300 goals met. This sounds abstract until you consider what these goals actually mean to students in the program. For them, it is their bridge to signing a lease, landing a better job, passing the U.S. citizenship exam, and now, passing the Florida drivers license exam offered only in English.
Two students shared their experiences at the podium. Patricia Jones Carson came from Jamaica at 12, struggled to get access to a quality education and, through the program, worked her way toward U.S. citizenship. She now operates a licensed assisted living out of her home. Lucia Garcia credited the program with bringing her closer to her daughters and helping her better guide them toward their own academic success.
Dawn Tripp, bestselling author of Jackie, gave the keynote and made the case for how the true power of literacy is the ability to find your own voice and express it.
Signed copies of Jackie and Georgia were available for purchase, written as first-person fictional accounts based on real biographical information of the lives of Jackie O'Nassis and Georgia O'Keefe. Her next book will retell the Trojan War through the eyes of Athena.
Volunteer tutor Dom Rusticchio closed out with a final ask: become a volunteer tutor. 90 minutes a week, no teaching background needed. For more information, vist literacyservices.org
