On April 28th, Volunteer Roanoke Valley, an arm of Council of Community Service, honored Basic Literacy tutor Angela Rauenswinter in a ceremony at the Jefferson Center. At the event - “Celebrate Volunteers…The Spirit of America!”- they also presented group and youth volunteer awards. Volunteer Roanoke Valley chose Angela from a pool of many fine candidates. Her work for Literacy Volunteers, however, made her stand out as the finest in the individual category.
Angela entered our Basic Literacy Program in March of 2000. In the three years that she has been a tutor, she has proven herself to be a phenomenal volunteer. Angela has given her learner and our program in general much time and effort. In 2002, she logged well over one hundred volunteer hours as a literacy tutor. However, she also goes above and beyond her tutor job description, helping out in the program in so many ways. Her work and commitment are exemplary. She greatly deserves this individual volunteer award.
Angela’s achievement as a basic reading and writing tutor sets her apart. After going through an intensive eighteen-hour training workshop in March 2000, she began her work with her basic literacy learner. In the first year of this relationship, her learner advanced from third to fourth grade reading level. To help an adult learner advance a full grade level in a year is an achievement that many tutors have great difficulty reaching. Adults have obligations like work, families, community activities, etc. that limit their time to work toward improved literacy. Angela’s learner is no exception. However, her instructional skill compels her learner to make the best use of his time, and her warm personality inspires a desire to succeed. In 2002, Angela’s learner did not advance a grade level. He advanced two! This move from fourth to sixth grade level in one year is nearly unheard of in our program. This achievement alone warrants recognition. However, Angela’s involvement does not stop there.
Over the years, Angela has attended several in-service workshops to continue to refine her abilities as a tutor. In 2002, she participated in the first advanced tutor training, undergoing eight more hours of literacy training. This training workshop focused on advanced reading and writing instruction to help learners prepare for the GED tests. Even with all his advances, her learner is still a long way from the GED, but these learner-tutor partners continue to strive for this goal together. Her willingness to continuously train shows her commitment to her learner and our program. After three long years of intensive commitment, many folks – and rightly so – would feel they had met their obligation, but not Angela. She’s just getting started.
Obviously, Angela enjoys involvement and meeting the needs of the community, and she also encourages her learner to be involved. Our program has an annual student publication called Writing from the Heart. Angela has assisted her learner in his contributions for the past two years, and they are presently working together on this year’s contribution. Angela understands the importance of having a voice in the community. She instills this idea in her learner, opening up a means of expression to him that seemed like an impossibility before he met her. She even encouraged and assisted her learner to contribute recipes to a learner cookbook, Cultural Soup. These projects give learners a voice, and the publications serve also to recruit new volunteers to our program.
One of the best examples of how Angela strives to open not only the world of literacy but also the community and world at large occurred in February 2002. The Roanoke Times gave our program free tickets for learners to go see Les Miserables at the Roanoke Civic Center. Knowing that Angela would want to expose her learner to this type of experience, Literacy Volunteers called and offered him a ticket. His response was immediate: “Is Angela going?” Well, of course, she did. After taking her learner out to dinner, she and her husband accompanied him to the production. This musical was his first experience with live theater – an experience he never would have had without Angela’s support. After the play, again she encouraged her learner to express himself in writing. With her help, his review of Les Miserables appeared in the following month’s program newsletter.
The caring, encouragement, and talent Angela offers her learner also extends to our program at large. Whenever we need volunteers to help with special program projects, we know Angela will always answer the call. When we needed people to work at First Fridays at Five, Angela was there. When we needed workers at our annual book sale, Angela was there. When we needed a set up crew for a potluck dinner, Angela was there. Whenever we ask, we can count on Angela to lend a hand. She serves as an example of the ultimate volunteer, presenting a wonderful public face for our program. Her participation, especially at public events like the book sale and First Fridays, motivates others to volunteer for our program as well as serving to mobilize others to volunteer in general.
The most recent example of Angela’s willingness to represent our program to the public and thus serve as a model of volunteerism is her participation in a child’s school project. When the mother of an elementary school student called to set up an interview with one of our tutors, Angela, of course, popped into mind immediately. Having become interested in literacy, this student decided to interview a volunteer tutor. She then had to write it up and present it to her class. Graciously, Angela met with the student at the library on a Saturday afternoon. Afterward, the student asked Angela if she would come to the school as part of her presentation to the class. Again, Angela was happy to help, demonstrating for these children the importance of volunteerism in the community and mobilizing future volunteers in the process.
Angela's work in our program speaks for itself. We are very happy that she received this award. She's a great representative for all our hard-working and dedicated volunteers. Thanks, Angela!!
Angela Rauenswinter Links:
Roanoke City Third Grader Interviews Basic Literacy Learner
Cookbook Debuts at Annual ESOL Potluck
ESOL Potluck Photo Gallery
Literacy Volunteers Holds New GED Preparation Workshop
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