An average 20% of adults in San Diego County struggle with reading and writing. Many have learning disabilities; others received insufficient individual instruction in school or at home; and still others are immigrants seeking to learn English.  To help adults improve their literacy skills and empower them to achieve their goals, the County created the LEARN Adult Literacy program in 2005. Volunteer Coordinator Kevin Vigil has been inspired by the program’s success since the beginning.

“I moved here from Denver just as the program was getting started,” said Vigil.  “I was a school teacher and needed to update my credential to work here in California, so this job was only meant to be temporary, but I ended up loving what I was doing!  I get to see the impact this program has on people’s lives and coming to work is something I look forward to every day.”

LEARN offers free, confidential adult literacy and learning services that include one-on-one and small group tutoring and computer-aided instruction.  There are literacy centers at the El Cajon and Vista branch libraries, but services are available at all San Diego County Library branches.

“We have such an international county,” said Vigil.  “About 60% of our learners are non-native speakers – from Spanish and Arabic to Korean and Chinese.  We have 33 branch libraries and all of their demographics are different.”

As signage and flyers make it hard to reach this population, most of LEARN’s clients are referred through word of mouth.  Library staff are trained to understand when a visitor may need extra help with reading and writing and are able to recommend contacting one of the library’s literacy centers.  Vigil has also reached out to churches and community organizations to let them know that literacy services are available.

“What makes LEARN successful is that we are one-on-one tutoring,” said Vigil.  “There are many reasons that people can’t read and write well – they may have a learning disability or they may have had to work and couldn’t graduate – there can be a lot of embarrassment and anxiety for them in a group setting.  Oftentimes, it’s hard enough just to come through the door and admit that they need help.”

Many of the clients that reach out to LEARN aren’t simply motivated by learning to read and write better; there are often other reasons that finally sparked their motivation to take action.

“Learners may have seen a promotion pass them by, or their child’s homework started to become too difficult, or they just want to read a bedtime story to their daughter,” said Vigil.

One success story that inspired Vigil was a learner who reached out for help nearly 8 years ago. He needed tutoring to help him pass a test to get a job in Imperial County – to be near his wife and new baby daughter.  At the time, he lived, worked and attended college in the South Bay.

“When he came in for tutoring, he was near tears because he was missing out on his daughter’s life,” said Vigil.  “He worked with a tutor for 6 months, passed the test, got the job, and was able to move back home to be with his family.  When our clients like this reach their goals– that’s when they have truly graduated from our program.”

As the Volunteer Coordinator, Vigil helps people get involved in meaningful volunteer opportunities for a cause they believe in.  LEARN currently has 68 active one-on-one volunteer tutors and in the past year had more than 230 volunteers help with one-on-one tutoring, small group instruction and leading Citizenship and English Conversation classes.

“We serve so many different communities that it is important for us to find volunteers that our learners can relate with – perhaps even speak the same native language as our learners to help them better understand the concepts,” said Vigil.

One volunteer, Isaias Padilla, has been volunteering with the County’s literacy programs since he retired in the early 1991.

“Volunteers are what make this program so successful,” said Vigil.  “Isaias is such a good tutor and a great person. He is always learning new techniques and learning new things from the learners themselves.”

To learn more about the LEARN Adult Literacy program and how to volunteer, visit: http://www.sdcl.org/learn-index.html.