Huntington Teen on a Mission to Eradicate Illiteracy in Suffolk County

At just 17 years old, one Huntington teen is already heavily involved in making her community a better place.

Maria Samaritano serves as a junior ambassador for the nonprofit organization, Literacy Suffolk, where she aims to raise awareness of the literacy problem in Suffolk County.

According to Literacy Suffolk, one in seven adults in Suffolk County cannot read beyond a sixth grade level, making it hard for them to find a good job or even read directions on a medicine bottle label.

In her quest to raise awareness of this problem, Samaritano is looking to recruit one student from every high school in Suffolk County to become a leader in the organization as a junior ambassador.

"As junior ambassadors, we are responsible for creating public awareness of the literacy problem on Long Island, and each of us is expected to recruit one adult tutor," Samaritano said. "This will be done through community outreach programs, such as giving a presentation to local senior centers, Lion's Club, churches/synagogues, etc. I am working now to schedule a date to give a presentation at the Senior Center in Huntington near the YMCA."

Samaritano also contributes to the cause by fundraising for literacy programs and coordinating a team called "Legs for Literacy" that participates every year in the town-wide Thanksgiving Run in Huntington.

Literacy Suffolk is currently seeking volunteers to sign up for training and tutoring throughout Suffolk County. Two upcoming tutor training workshops are scheduled for June and July in Riverhead and Bellport.

"My goal is to have the Tutor Training Workshop that is scheduled for July to be filled to capacity,” Samaritano said. “By August, I hope to have 20 Junior Ambassadors selected, committed and ready to work on filling up the Tutor Training Workshops in the fall. I also want to set this program up so that it continues long after I graduate from high school or there is no longer a literacy problem on Long Island."

Literacy Suffolk recruits and trains community volunteers to tutor adults in Basic Literacy and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). The Basic Literacy program is for adults who read and write below a sixth grade level. ESOL teaches conversational English to people whose native language is not English. About 800 people are on the waiting list for tutoring.

For more information about the cause, visit the Literacy Suffolk website.