MONTICELLO—According to Angela Dutcher, the Executive Director of Literacy Volunteers, the demand for English as a Second Language (ESL) education has surged in recent years, resulting in an increased requirement for additional opportunities to be made available for new students.

“We had to reevaluate how we do business,” said Dutcher. 

When the program started many years ago, the organization had volunteer tutors, and it worked and met the demands of the community. 

But over the years, especially this year, Dutcher said the need for the class just exploded. 

Dutcher said there were two reasons for this boom: the increase of immigrants to the area who now live and work here and the closing of the Sullivan County BOCES ESL program that was shut down during COVID. 

And because of that, the Read It Again bookstore has been the location for students who need to learn English. 

“We went from 30 students to 90 because there’s nowhere else for them to go,” added Dutcher. 

Likewise, Dutcher noted that, “Sullivan County has a culturally diverse population with 28 percent of our residents speaking languages other than English at home.”

Literacy Volunteers now pay for an ESL teacher for the classes, and the instructor is now willing to teach additional lessons during the week in the evenings, but funds were needed to make that happen. 

That message of need reached the Wolf Lake Neighbors Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization supported by homeowners at nearby Wolf Lake. They have provided a grant of $2,500 that will help support an additional class during the week. 

“We believe in targeted philanthropy,” said Jean Eifert, a Director of the foundation, “by supporting successful local programs looking to expand. We are pleased to join the other community supporters of Literacy Volunteers. Making a difference at a local level is so important.”

The one-hour classes usually handle about 20 students at a time, and they are serving about 60 students now; the grant Literacy Volunteers, can service 20-to-30 more students each week. 

In the classes, the students learn not only the basics of English but also essential life skills and how to navigate day-to-day life by speaking and understanding English and helping with citizenship information. 

Additionally, help is also provided to those folks who are not proficient in their native language and would need additional help with reading and writing. 

“About one in five members of the Sullivan County community lack basic literacy skills,” said Dutcher. 

To join one of the classes, Dutcher said all a person has to do is come to the Read It Again Bookstore and attend one of the classes being held at 63 North Street in Monticello or call (845) 583-7191 

And if you want to support the organization, Dutcher said there is no better way of doing that then being a patron at the Read It Again Bookstore, where they have a wide variety of used books, magazines, music, movies, and even rare books. 

Dutcher added, “Just coming in and helping support by being a customer is always a wonderful way to go.”