Laubach Literacy Fredericton, Inc.

2015 Annual Report

2016 Annual General Meeting

Thursday, April 21, 2016 Government House

Fredericton, NB

A Member Agency of

Reading is more than just pages and stories. Those pages and stories take

us into worlds we never could have known without them. They expand our

minds, open our eyes, and fill our hearts.

-An NB Literacy Day Message from Miss New Brunswick 2015, Sarah Betts

Honorary Patron The Hon. Jocelyne Roy Vienneau, ONB, Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick

Laubach Literacy Fredericton, Inc. (Operating as Adult Literacy Fredericton)

Annual General Meeting

April 21, 2016

Agenda

1. Welcome and Introductions

2. President’s 2015 Report (attached): Dan Horsman

3. Treasurer’s 2015 Report (attached): Shaun Williams

4. Tutor Coordinator’s 2015 Report (attached): Deborah Humble

5. Call for Nominations and Election of Officers

President Dan Horsman Vice-President George MacIntyre Treasurer Shaun Williams Secretary Carol Doucette Members at Large Alan Atkins

Herbert Cliff Hannah Davies Vivian Farrar Lisa O’Blenis Joan Somerville

6. Introduction of Honorary Patron and Guest Speaker

7. Guest Address: The Hon. Jocelyne Roy-Vienneau, ONB, Lieutenant Governor of New

Brunswick

8. Gift Presentations to the Lieutenant Governor

9. Presentation of Certificates to Learners and Tutors

10. Musical Interlude: Performance by David Nielsen

11. Closing Remarks

12. Reception

Laubach Literacy/Fredericton, Inc. 2015 President’s Report

I have been a tutor for over five years and was a member of the Board of Directors of Laubach Literacy Fredericton from 2011 to 2013. I re-joined the Board of Directors and became President at the beginning of October, 2015. At that time, the organisation was facing significant problems. It was operating at a deficit due to declines in funding; the number of adult learners had dropped significantly; and the Board (as of September) was down to four members. In October, the Board adopted a number of objectives aimed at turning this situation around. We set out to increase the number of adult learners and tutors; to increase the size of the Board of Directors; to raise public awareness of Laubach Literacy Fredericton; and to raise $9,000 in funding over and above the funding that we receive from our two main funding partners, the United Way and Laubach Literacy New Brunswick. I am pleased to report that in the short time that was left in 2015, we made significant progress on two of these objectives. First, by December we had doubled the size of the Board compared to the September number. We now have a strong board with a good mix of experienced and new members, all of whom are dedicated to our mission. Second, as part of developing greater public awareness of the organisation, the Board decided that we would adopt a new name, Adult Literacy Fredericton, in order to more clearly communicate our mission to the general public. The decision to do so was not made lightly. A number of options were considered including retaining the Laubach name. The Board deliberated on the matter at our October, November and December meetings before arriving at a decision. Through surveys, we obtained the views of the tutors as well as some former tutors and Board members on the various options. While there was widespread support for a new name, there was no consensus as to what that new name should be. The name 'Adult Literacy Fredericton' only surfaced at the December Board meeting and it won the approval of the Board, with April 2016 set as the target date for implementation. I should note that while Adult Literacy Fredericton will be our 'public face' so to speak, in order to save money as well as expedite the name-change process, we have retained our legal name, Laubach Literacy Fredericton Inc. As a result, we will continue to use the Laubach name in certain situations, such as issuing receipts for donations, banking, and other situations where the use of our legal name is required. I want to thank all of those who served on the Board in 2015 for their service. We ended 2015 well positioned to take on the challenges of 2016. I also want to recognize our Coordinator, Deborah Humble, for her dedication and outstanding work. She does much more than what is suggested by the title Tutor Coordinator and her commitment is instrumental to our success. The work of the Board and the Coordinator is all done to support the work of our tutors. They are truly the heart and soul of our operation. They are helping people to reach their potential through improved literacy and so to them I give a special thank you. I also want to congratulate our adult learners for having the courage to come forward to enroll in the program and the determination to stick with it! As a tutor, I can say that it is your commitment to learning that motivates us. Dan Horsman, President April 21, 2016

Laubach Literacy Fredericton, Inc. 2015 Tutor Coordinator’s Report

As tutor coordinator, I am in the fortunate position of having contact with everyone-board members,

tutors, learners and the organizations that support our services through the year.

In 2015 I attended member gatherings offered by Volunteer Greater Fredericton and Executive

Directors meetings of United Way Central New Brunswick. Both agencies supported our efforts to

attract and engage volunteers through advertising our needs on their website and social media and

through creating initiatives that encouraged volunteerism in all sectors of the community. We

supported the United Way’s 2015 Community Fund campaign with a presentation to 30 UPS night-

time employees in August and set up our banner and an information table for the rest of the month.

At the end of December, Laubach Literacy Fredericton also participated in the UW’s “Together, We

are Possibility” video campaign on You Tube, showing the ways in which UW funding is used here

in our community and also promoting the real successes of our program.

On November 7th, Lisa O’Blenis, Vivian Farrar, and I were at Fredericton’s first ever Volunteer

Timeraiser event that attracted over 200 people. Some of those volunteers designated Laubach

Literacy Fredericton as one of the organizations they were interested in, and we hope to see the

benefits of that in 2016. In November, we also took steps toward more actively promoting our

services and encouraging referrals to our program when Dan Horsman, Joan Somerville and I

made a presentation targeted to Social Development frontline staff, giving them a better idea of

how our one-to-one program can improve quality of life and benefit those seeking employment.

Lisa was instrumental in creating a new brochure that was distributed at both these events.

The year closed with animated conversation between tutors and board members over a holiday

dinner in the Deli Connection. By the end of December, we were well on our way to a revitalized

board, with fresh energy, renewed focus and a wealth of expertise. I admire their passion and want

to thank them for the many ways they have supported me. 2016 will definitely be an exciting year!

The most exciting aspect of the past year and the most rewarding one for me, however, was

working with our tutors and learners. I could say that our tutors devoted over 1,000 hours to tutoring

and preparing lessons, but that wouldn’t capture the real impact that they have had. I could say

that we had a total of 24 learners in our program, but that wouldn’t tell the real story either. The real

story was the way in which I saw our tutors and learners working together and enriching each

other’s lives day after day. The real story unfolded as I heard that a learner was practicing reading

a book so that he could in turn read it to his grandchildren, that a learner got a library card and was

borrowing books from the library, or that a learner was excited about teaching someone else a skill

she had just mastered with the help of her tutor.

Learning is a challenge. It’s hard work, and in today’s world, it’s demanded of us more and more.

It takes courage to try new things, whether as a new volunteer anxious about being able to teach

another person when they’ve never done it before, an experienced tutor trying to find a better way

to meet their learner’s needs, or an adult nervous about becoming a learner in our program. In the

end, it’s our learners, like those whose stories you’ll find at the end of the AGM report, who inspire

us all to have the courage and the determination to embrace these challenges and to become

continuous learners throughout our lives.

Deborah Humble, Tutor Coordinator April 21, 2016

Acknowledgements

Laubach Literacy Fredericton would like to thank the following organizations and businesses for

their support of the services it provided to adult learners in the Greater Fredericton area in 2015:

6 Colour Copy City of Fredericton-Transit Fare Assistance Program

Deli Connection Café

Fredericton Community Foundation Laubach Literacy New Brunswick Literacy Coalition of New Brunswick

United Way Central N.B.

Volunteer Canada Volunteer Greater Fredericton We also wish to express our thanks to the Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick and Government House for hosting this evening’s event. Our volunteer tutors are the backbone of our organization. We value their time and their commitment to learning. In 2015 the following tutors shared their love of reading with passion, they encouraged and supported their learners in countless ways, and they inspired us with their generous spirit: Carol Doucette Sharon Dunnett Jennifer Fairbank Vivian Farrar Valerie Finnamore Dixie Forsythe Elizabeth Hamilton Dan Horsman Gail Jasper Colleen Kinch Phyllis Lipsett Garth Maxwell Natalie Canning Reinartz Kathy Ricketts Debbie Seymour Joan Somerville Patricia Standing Heather Stuckless Jennifer Sweet Maureen Tingley Patty Thomas Jane Wasson

Together, we are making a difference!

Tutor and board member, Vivian Farrar, designed and made the “Reading Expands Our World” art

quilt presented to the Lieutenant Governor in honour of New Brunswick Literacy Day.

The Adult Literacy Fredericton Bear given to The Hon. Jocelyne Roy-Vienneau in appreciation of her

support of literacy was designed and made by a supporter of continuous learning.

Read Your Way to Success

Adult Literacy Fredericton

Testimonials

How My Future Will Be Different

Working with Adult Literacy Fredericton has opened doors for me.

Reading the stories in the Laubach book, Changes, was exciting and

fun. I wanted to read more than my tutor asked me to! I still find some

words hard to read, but I really enjoyed reading the stories about

people in real life.

The story about Helen Keller showed me that if she can do it, anyone

can do it! She was deaf and blind, but when she learned how to read

with her fingers and talk with her hands, everything opened up to her.

I felt really happy for her.

It’s just like that for us students when we learn to read. We see that we

are not alone and that there are many choices that we can make.

In my workplace, I see interesting things to read. I like to read the

booklets about problems that people may have and how to help. I also

like to read the newspaper. I see notices on the bulletin board and I am

interested. I can now find people in the phone book and their phone

numbers. This is very useful to me, so is the dictionary. I am finding

the words that I am learning and trying to read the meaning. I have

learned a lot of words. Using a dictionary is interesting.

I look forward to the future. I would like to get my driver’s license in the

future. I need to learn harder words so I can read the driver’s handbook

and pass the test. Then I will take driving lessons and get my license.

I am working towards this goal! Another goal I still have is to be a tutor

someday and help another person like my tutor helped me. I will know

how they feel when they can’t read like they want to.

I like to tell you about my future goals so that others can look forward

to their future, too. It doesn’t matter what age you are. Today is the first

day of the future.

-Edna Amos

A Learner Story

My name is Rollande. I come from a large family. I have eight sisters

and four brothers. I was born in Bathurst and my family was French.

We moved to Fredericton when I was six years old and I did not have

anyone to help me with my English lessons.

It was hard going to school; I was bullied by the children when I was

eight years old. I was kept out of school to look after my younger sisters

and brothers.

I moved out on my own when I was fifteen, I got married when I was

sixteen, and I had my two children soon after. I made sure my kids

went to school so they did not struggle like me.

They both have good jobs and I am really proud of them. I was

motivated by my granddaughter and grandson to be able to read

English.

My tutor motivates me every week and now it’s my turn to read and

write and I am thankful for this chance. It is helping me with my self-

esteem. I would like to fill out my own forms at the doctor’s office so I

do not have to depend on someone else for help.

Adult Literacy Fredericton is helping me do that and I have completed

the third level of the Laubach program and I am working on level four.

I started the program on October 3rd, 2013.

-Rollande Brown

A Daughter’s Story

My name is Pam and I am extremely proud to be the daughter of a very

dedicated adult learner. I hope that this letter will demonstrate why my

mother, Rollande, deserves recognition.

In her early years, her primary focus was ensuring that my brother and

I were provided with all of the opportunities to obtain a quality

education. All of the sacrifices she made have contributed to the

successful adult I have become. My mother has finally found an

opportunity in her life where she can focus on making her dreams of

reading a reality.

I take pride in her courage to follow her dream at the age of fifty-eight

by starting her literacy program at Adult Literacy Fredericton. I have

witnessed her successfully complete many levels of this program in a

short amount of time. In June of 2014, my mother received a 2014

Sheree Fitch Adult Learner Scholarship Award. In just nine short

months, my mother was able to write an essay that described her

challenges and her inspiration to join the Laubach organization. The

pride I saw in my mother that day will carry with me for the rest of my

life. This success has come with many challenges and with hard work,

which needs to be celebrated. The dedication she demonstrates to her

literacy program and her determination to continue her journey of

improving her literacy skills is very impressive.

It is my hope that you will help me celebrate and recognize my mother’s

accomplishments. This recognition makes all of the challenges she has

faced with her literacy journey worthwhile, and provides her with the

confidence to recognize that her dream of reading is a true attainable

reality.

-Pam Brown

Overcoming Challenges is Possible

My name is Carol Doucette and I have been tutoring Rollande since

January 2015. Rollande never had the opportunity to continue her

education beyond the fourth grade. When she had children, she stayed

home to look after them and always encouraged them to get a good

education. When her children were older and she could work outside

the home, Rollande found it very difficult to secure employment

because she had difficulty with reading and writing.

Rollande finally took the opportunity to change her circumstances and

improve her skills when she applied to the Laubach program in October

of 2013. Since then she has never looked back! Rollande started at

Level 1 and is now working on Level 4. This is a testament to her hard

work and dedication. She is always early to class, works to the very

last minute of the lesson, and always completes her assigned work.

Sometimes, she even works into the next lesson on her own. She is

now filling out forms on her own, and reading newspaper articles,

notices at the employment centre and information that is posted in her

doctor’s office. She has even taught herself cursive writing, which she

tries to incorporate in her weekly assignments, which are beautifully

done. She has gained confidence in herself and is proud of her every

expanding abilities.

Rollande has overcome significant personal obstacles and shows what

perseverance, strength of character, and dedication to a goal can

achieve. She embodies all the qualities of a person who has taken

responsibility for her own self-improvement and is committed to

learning. She has expressed her wish to me to someday give back to

other learners. This speaks to her generosity of spirit and her

selflessness and I am confident that she will attain this goal. She is an

example for all of us. I feel fortunate as a tutor to be part of her literacy

journey.

-Carol Doucette