Richmond seeks volunteers for literacy program

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Richmond seeks volunteers for literacy program

Volunteering for the Literacy for Every Adult Program (LEAP) isn’t only rewarding for the volunteer and student, but also for the City of Richmond.

“Every volunteer hour is actually valued at $28.54 to the city,” said City Manager Laura Snideman said while promoting a call for volunteers for the program at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

In the LEAP program, most volunteers are matched with a student or a class and are trained to become tutors. They meet with their students for usually about two hours, twice a
week. 

The Program Coordinator guide volunteers along the way and is “always flexible and understanding of them and their student’s needs,” officials said.

A version of the LEAP program was launched by the Richmond Public Library in 1984. At first, the program was solely aimed at improving basic reading and writing skills, but as time passed LEAP expanded its services to include GED preparation, English as a Second Language, math literacy and computer literacy.

Take the LEAP and become a volunteer by contacting Jessica Barragan at 510-307-8009 for an appointment or email at [email protected].