Literacy Volunteers Of Santa Fe

Welcome to Literacy Volunteers! We are here to help you learn to read or learn to speak, read, and write in English. We are located at Santa Fe Community College in Room 514A near Adult Basic Education. Call us at 428-1353. Hablamos espanol. Llame 428-1353

About Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe

Mission: If words cannot be spoken, read or understood, community cannot thrive. Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe serves as the bridge between those who want to learn and volunteers who want to share what they know. Because reading empowers people to achieve their goals and participate fully in the community, Literacy Volunteers strives to provide free, quality tutoring and encouragement for all who want to learn to read, write and speak English. Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe (LVSF) is a non-profit organization established in 1985 and affiliated with Adult Basic Education at SFCC since 1987. Because of the great demand for literacy services in the area, the program has grown to support the work of about 100 volunteer tutors on average working with approximately 700 students annually.

 Literacy Facts

  • Did you know that there are 91 million people in the U.S that don’t know how to read or write, and there are a big percentage that don’t know how to speak English.
  • In New Mexico, one in five adults are low-level readers, meaning an estimated 13,000 people in the Santa Fe area need special tutoring services. In addition, another 15,000 adult immigrants in Santa Fe need the opportunity to learn English as a second language.

Upcoming/Recent Events and Activities

Tutor Training: For those interested in teaching adults to read (our Basic Literacy or BL program) or English as a Second Language (ESL), LVSF will be conducting Tutor Training classes throughout the year. As a tutor we ask that you commit to tutoring individual or groups of students for one year. During that time we ask that you meet at least twice a week for 1 and 1/2 hours. (Needless to say, time off for vacation is not a problem.) The BL training involves a commitment of 20 hours on the following dates:

  • April 16, 4:00 - 6:00 pm
  • April 17, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
  • April 18, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

The ESL training involves a commitment of 20 hours on the following dates:

  • May 14, 4:00 - 6:00 pm
  • May 15, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
  • May 16, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

If you are interested, please call us at 428-1353 or email us at lvsf@sfccnm.edu ...the rewards for this activity are greater than you might imagine.

Celebrate a day for Literacy : On Saturday, March 21, Clear Light Book Gallery (851 West San Mateo St. and Calle Lorca) will sponsor a fund raising event from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. A number of prominent people will be attending, including Mayor David Coss, the actress Ali McGraw, and over 20 New Mexico authors and publishers. There will be storytelling, readings, talks, raffles, and sales throughout the day. Please come and join us and support this worthy cause.

Recognition Event and Open House: LVSF held an open house for the organization in rooms 513 and 514A at Santa Fe Community College from 4:00 to 7:00 pm on Friday, December 5. During this event, tutors who donated their time to us for 5, 10, 15 and 20 years were recognized for their service. Special awards were given to tutor-student matches that showed exceptional progress, and refreshments were served. Mr. Bruce Besser gave an inspiring speech about how he graduated from prestigious Penn State University and built a multimillion dollar building company, despite suffering from dyslexia. The turn-out was great with over 100 students, tutors, and persons from the community attending. 

Annual Appeal: We mailed our annual appeal for donations in November in time for the holidays. We know that the economy may make it difficult for you to give, but the need for literacy services continues. Please do what you can to support this worthy cause.

Silent Auction

A number of local businesses and people donated items for a silent auction. Please visit our Silent Auction webpage to view and buy these items.