Getting Serious About Literacy in Milford

On the Literacy Center of Milford's Facebook page, the Word of the Day for May 8th was 'Torrid':

torridTOR-id, adjective

1 a :parched with heat especially of the sun : hot

b :giving off intense heat : scorching

2 :ardent, passionate

Perhaps Milford citizens will add that word to their vocabulary during these upcoming summer months, and maybe quite a few more as a result of the Literary Center's growing presence in the city.

The Milford Patch recently spoke with Literacy Center of Milford Tami Jackson about the center's annual Authors Luncheon and how you can help increase literacy in Milford.

How did the idea for the brunch come about?

This was our fourth year. We have a chairperson who works at University of New Haven and she contacts the authors yearly. We created the event to give back a literacy event to the community. It is not really a fundraiser for us, just a nice day out for brunch, visiting friends and learning about the authors and encourage others to read a good book.

What sort of work does the literacy center do in the community?

We tutor adults who need literacy support.  We help in basic skills, GED, English as a second language. We also have children's literacy to encourage reading and learning. We have a at Milford Hospital. Every new mother receives a packet with a book to read to their child to encourage reading at a young age. On their first birthday they receive another book. We also have partnered with three local organizations, , and  to donate new or gently used books to kids on their birthdays. We also read in eleven preschool classes in Milford and read to seniors in a local Health Care center. Last year our volunteers donated over 9,000 hours of service to the mission of the Literacy Center. We are non-profit and I am the only paid staff. One hundred people are volunteers.  

How can people who want to get involved and help out do so?

If people want to become a tutor or a reader, they can call to schedule an appointment. People can schedule book drives for us and donations are always appreciated to help keep the office running. We also have several fundraisers listed in the web site that we would love to have people attend. A is scheduled for July 8 at Orange Ale House and our Annual wine tasting will be October 12 at Westwoods Ballroom in West Haven. We have a Student Accomplishments night on September 12 at where our ESL students read essays before their family and friends. It is an inspirational night.