I need your help. For the next two days, I am fundraising on behalf of Literacy New Jersey. As you may know, I have volunteered as an English as a Second Language (“ESL”) Tutor with Literacy New Jersey for two years. The organization, like a lot of non-profits around the county, is facing a devastating 70% cut to its operating budget due to cuts to its federal funding. Without help, these cuts will severely limit Literacy New Jersey’s ability to fulfil its mission to provide life changing literacy instruction to adults in New Jersey.

If you’ve been watching the news, feeling helpless, and wondering, “what can I do?” this is something good you can do. Please donate to my fundraising campaign today. 

Here's how you can help:

• Donate: Contribute whatever you can. No amount is too small!
• Spread the Word: Share my fundraising page with your friends, family, and social networks. Let’s spread awareness so we can raise more!

The students in my class are some of the hardest working people I know. Several of them are caring for small children, have multiple jobs, are enrolled in school, and also take ESL lessons with me two nights a week. They deserve better than losing access to English classes because our federal government is threatening to revoke funding.

My students illustrate the importance of these classes better than I can. Below are some of their testimonials: 

“I am learning English to help me in my work, to provide a better life for my family, and to become a useful member of my community. This program has been a great help to me, since I work in an office writing and answering emails. It also helped me a lot with my son’s homework and being able to communicate with his teachers. Now I can speak, hear, and understand English better thanks to this wonderful program.”

-S.M.

“[Literacy New Jersey] helps me in my profession. It is very important to help my children with their homework [and] allows me to be useful in my community.”

-I.T.

“This program is very important to me because the classes are free and the schedule is flexible. Also, this program helps me to improve my English skills in my job and in my daily activities. In addition, this program provides me a support to continue studying my professional career and look for better job opportunities in my life.”

-R.E

“I have taken the ESL class for about nine months, and I can feel my English communication skills improved significantly. I gained huge confidence in English speaking, which opened a door for my college study. In my opinion, this ESL program is great despite being free of charge.”

-T.P.

“This program helps me interact better with people at work, take online classes for my English degree, and communicate with my colleagues and professors. I’m very grateful that Literacy New Jersey offers it for free and with a wide variety of schedules, since with work, it’s often difficult to find a suitable time to study English.”

-F.R.

I’ve included additional information about the organization and what is happening with federal funding below. But the main point is we need your help. Please donate. Please share with your networks and ask them to help.

About the Organization

Literacy New Jersey provides free instruction to adults who need help with reading, writing, math, and speaking English. Trained volunteer tutors work with adults in small groups to help them improve their language and literacy skills so they can reach their life goals. Our students are dedicated adults working hard to make a better life for themselves and their families. Last year alone, 5,347 students spent 181,588 hours learning from Literacy NJ tutors.

What’s Happening

Federal funding is a substantial portion of Literacy New Jersey’s state-wide budget and may not be renewed. The proposed cuts to the Workforce Innovation and Oppotunity Act (“WIOA”) eliminate adult education funds, known as “Title II”, across the country.  This means cutting 70% of Literacy New Jersey’s operating budget. The loss of funding will result in significant cuts to staff and will reshape the infrastructure and capacity the organization has worked so hard to build to serve our students. 

Please help us save this program. 

Thank you for standing by me in this effort. Your support means the world to me!