GRACE PLACE: - Jun 15 The Community Foundation of Collier County ...

GRACE PLACE:

• Jun 15

The Community Foundation of Collier County awarded a $10,000 grant to Grace Place for Children & Families in 2008 to help provide one part-time employee to expand and improve adult literacy volunteer training and support and to enhance curriculum development, student assessments and progress outcomes, and two parttime bilingual aides (one Creole-speaking, one Spanish-speaking) to help improve student commitment level and the rate of class attendance and completion.

Because of this grant, 80 eager adults are taking English classes from 26 volunteer teachers each week at Grace Place. These teachers are equipping their students to reach their job and life goals, enabling them to get involved in their children's education and empowering them to become engaged citizens in our community. Meet some of the very successful students and their teachers:

• Teresa is now proudly speaking English with her boss at McDonald's.

• Loran has two students who have their own cleaning service. In a creative and directly beneficial lesson, he had them put together a proposal in English about why he should hire their company.

•Maribel comes twice a week so that she can help her special-needs son with his schoolwork and with his developmental delays.

• Kay is a retired teacher who finds great fulfillment teaching and encouraging two women who began classes with no literacy skills but are progressing rapidly.

• Crystal wants to improve her reading skills so she can earn her GED and so that she can be more confident reading to her son.

• Milot works at Wal-Mart, is the father of four and speaks English but was illiterate in any language; his wife came to class with him last week and listened to him read.

• Walter, a retired anesthesiologist, has never taught before, but brings a whole bag of props and ideas and is having a great time.

Stephanie Munz Campbell is the executive

director of Grace Place for Children &

Families, a faith-based community center

teaching literacy, language and life skills to

at-risk children and impoverished families

in Golden Gate city. This neighborhood has

been identified as the highest pocket of need

in Collier County (outside of Immokalee).

For more information about Grace Place,

call 455-2707.