Adult literacy organization looking for new volunteers to meet demand

A 50-year old organization aiming to boost Newfoundland and Labrador's literacy levels is seeing more demand for its services, and needs more volunteers.

Teachers on Wheels formed in St. John's in the 1970s with the aim of improving adult literacy rates, as well as promoting awareness of illiteracy in the province, which has some of the lowest literacy rates in the country.

"The last count was 32 active tutor-learner matches in the city, so we've got a little bit of a waitlist there. So we're looking to build on that and expand it a bit," executive director Tom Dawe told CBC Radio's On the Go.

The organization recruits and trains tutors. Dawe says they don't necessarily have to have a background in teaching professionally.

"We match them on a one-to-one basis with adults who are looking to work on their essential skills, be it reading and writing, he said. "Sometimes we help with basic math, numeracy, basic computer skills."

Teachers on Wheels is holding a one-day training workshop on Saturday where people can learn about the organization and see other volunteers demonstrating practical techniques for tutoring.

"There's no obligation up front. Basically, it's a chance to come in and sort of learn about the organization and the field itself and sort of make an informed decision as a prospective volunteer whether or not this is something you'd be interested in doing," said Dawe.

Rewarding experience

Mehrnaz Shamspour has been volunteering with the group for about eight months.

"So far it has been an extremely rewarding, enjoyable experience to get to help someone," she said. "They're extremely appreciative and I can't say enough good about the experience really."

Shamspour says she loves volunteering and when she saw an ad for a previous Teachers on Wheels workshop, she signed up.

Suzanne Dower, who has been volunteering since 2018, tutored a woman from Brazil for a few years and now helps an Iranian couple.

"I have to say it's been a really excellent experience. It's just really nice to be able to be able to help someone one-on-one, I think in a concrete way, just with whatever they might need help with or different things they're struggling with as people who are new to the country," Dower said.

She said she meets with clients and they can determine what they need help with and they also go on outings, like to the library.

New clientele 

Dawe says new Canadians reach out to the organization for help with conversational English, and that aspect has been a real growth area.

The people who reach out to Teachers on Wheels come from a wide range of backgrounds, he said.

Some of the older clients have undiagnosed learning disabilities, said Dawe.

"Right now I'm seeing a lot of 30 and 40-somethings, which is very interesting," he said.

In these cases, he said, it might be a parent who isn't confident in their own skills but wants to help that child.

Teachers on Wheels has made a big difference in people's lives over the years, said Dawe, adding literacy also makes people more independent.

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