Jeffrey Mosher talks with John Leask, a Board Member with the Capital Area Literacy Coalition, on this segment of Michigan Business Beat. John, a retired colonel who served in Afghanistan, is also a spokesperson of CALC. He took literacy training while in the National Guard and tutored English as a Second Language (ESL) in Afghanistan and later in Michigan. John covers what the mission of the program is stating that CALC is, "breaking the cycle of poverty one individual at a time."
Capital Area Literacy Coalition (CALC) is a private, non-profit volunteer literacy organization founded in 1985. CALC, or The Reading People, provides a variety of services to enable people to achieve personal goals through literacy. We believe that the ability to read is critical to personal freedom and the maintenance of a democratic society.
These beliefs have led us to make the following commitments:
We are committed to the personal growth of our students
- We are committed to the effective use of volunteers
- We are committed to improving our society
- We are committed to strengthening and improving our organization
- We are committed to supporting literacy organizations
We provide free one-to-one instruction in reading and writing for children struggling in school, at risk-teens, and adults. We also provide tutoring to migrant and refugee families and English as a Second Language instruction. Diagnostic testing and vision screening are free. Our typical program commitment is two hours per week for a period of six months.
The Capital Area Literacy Coalition has delivered exceptionally high-quality programs for over 30 years. Because of its proximity to Michigan State University, many undergraduate and graduate students choose to obtain independent study or intern credit for their work with our programs. Professors and technical/clerical workers generously donate their time. Our director, Dr. Lois A. Bader, an MSU professor, is an internationally-known authority in literacy and learning. Thus, students obtain a high level of service regardless of any disability or learning difficulty they may have. Click here to find out more about our program reviews. http://www.thereadingpeople.org/
