Looking for Virtual Volunteers

Would you like to help Literacy Center West inspire individuals to work, learn, and grow? Want to be more than a Facebook fan, but can't commit to serving on a board or committee?

Consider being a "Virtual Volunteer" and help us job develop for our students! You can go beyond the tired listings on Craigslist, CareerBuilder, or Monster.com and make a tremendous difference in the life of one of our youth by helping them find employment through your own personal networks. Virtual Volunteers help in two crucial ways:

1. Volunteers scour their personal contact lists to find potential employment contacts, keeping in mind that most of our students are 17-21 years-old, seeking entry level positions, have a high school diploma or GED (or are studying to pass the GED), and sometimes have charges on their records from past mistakes they're coming to LCW to remedy. Jobs near the bus lines are also helpful in most situations.

2. Volunteers keep an ear out for the inside scoop on any opening positions, and also review their contact lists in search of jobs specific to the worker profiles we'll post under our "Photos" section.

When Virtual Volunteers uncover job leads that look like a good fit for our students, they simply email LCW to pass along the job information and their employer-contact's cell or email.

The benefit of volunteering virtually is that you don't have to commit to any set hours or days of the week -- you simply pledge to remain vigilant for the benefit of Cincinnati's impoverished young people and their families. You choose your own hours; your half-hour spent at midnight might change the course of someone's life.

To become a Virtual Volunteer, please click here to join our Virtual Volunteer group on Facebook and receive updates on new student profiles and job developing opportunities. Not on FaceBook? You can also contact LCW Senior Job Developer Thanapat Vichitchot at thanapat@litcenterwest.org or 513-244-5062.

Here are some profiles of current students who would be grateful for your support as a Virtual Volunteer:

Meet Kianna, 18, a high school graduate with good work experience in restaurants, as well as with mentoring and tutoring children. Her goal is to work hard so she can pay for a degree in banking and finance at Cincinnati State. Kianna has a clean background and would excel at money handling and/or customer service. Kianna has also been involved in community volunteer work. Contact us for references, an opportunity to interview Kianna, or potential job leads (downtown or West side areas are preferable, but she is available for other areas as well).



Meet Jelon, 21, an extremely outgoing and personable high school grad from Avondale. Jelon has excellent work history, with experience in customer service, money handling, food prep, and even fashion design. Jelon is searching for a job where his magnetic personality will shine, preferably in the sales or restaurant industry. Please contact us for references, an opportunity to interview Jelon, or potential job leads (Avondale or Clifton areas are preferable, but he is available for other areas as well).

Looking for Virtual Volunteers

Would you like to help Literacy Center West inspire individuals to work, learn, and grow? Want to be more than a Facebook fan, but can't commit to serving on a board or committee?

Consider being a "Virtual Volunteer" and help us find jobs for our students! You can go beyond the listings on Craigslist, CareerBuilder, or Monster.com and make a tremendous difference in the life of one of our youth by helping them find employment through your own personal networks. Virtual Volunteers help in two crucial ways:

1. Volunteers keep an ear out for the inside scoop on any opening positions, and also review their contact lists in search of jobs specific to the worker profiles we'll post under our "Photos" section.

2. Volunteers scour their personal contact lists to find potential employment contacts, keeping in mind that most of our students are 17-21 years-old, seeking entry level positions, have a high school diploma or GED (or are studying to pass the GED), and sometimes have charges on their records from past mistakes they're coming to LCW to remedy. Jobs near the bus lines are also helpful in most situations.

When Virtual Volunteers uncover job leads that look like a good fit for our students, they simply email LCW to pass along the job information and their employer-contact's cell or email.

The benefit of volunteering virtually is that you don't have to commit to any set hours or days of the week -- you simply pledge to remain vigilant for the benefit of Cincinnati's impoverished young people and their families. You choose your own hours; your half-hour spent at midnight might change the course of someone's life.

To become a Virtual Volunteer, please click here to join our Virtual Volunteer group on Facebook and receive updates on new student profiles and job developing opportunities. Not on FaceBook? You can also contact LCW Senior Job Developer Thanapat Vichitchot at thanapat@litcenterwest.org or 513-244-5062.

Here are some profiles of current students who would be grateful for your support as a Virtual Volunteer:

Meet Kianna, 18, a high school graduate with good work experience in restaurants, as well as with mentoring and tutoring children. Her goal is to work hard so she can pay for a degree in banking and finance at Cincinnati State. Kianna has a clean background and would excel at money handling and/or customer service. Kianna has also been involved in community volunteer work. Contact us for references, an opportunity to interview Kianna, or potential job leads (downtown or West side areas are preferable, but she is available for other areas as well).

Meet Jelon, 21, an extremely outgoing and personable high school grad from Avondale. Jelon has excellent work history, with experience in customer service, money handling, food prep, and even fashion design. Jelon is searching for a job where his magnetic personality will shine, preferably in the sales or restaurant industry. Please contact us for references, an opportunity to interview Jelon, or potential job leads (Avondale or Clifton areas are preferable, but he is available for other areas as well).

From the Director

Hello -- my name is Jason Hecker, and I serve as the Executive Director of Literacy Center West. Readers of this blog know that typically we like to share stories by and about the students of LCW. It's been a great way to invite our supporters inside the walls of LCW, to see first-hand how services like our Next Level Job Readiness Program and Night GED School make a difference in our community.

Today I wanted to use the blog as a platform to share with you the article I wrote for our most recent newsletter. It highlights some of the challenges we've faced as an organization this past year.

If you enjoy reading our blog and would like to receive our bi-annual newsletter, just drop me a line at jason@litcenterwest.org and specify if you would prefer the electronic or printed version. And if you are able to provide financial support to LCW, please visit www.litcenterwest.org and navigate to the "Donate" page.

Thanks and God Bless -- Jason

This past year has been a challenge for Literacy Center West; certainly my toughest year since becoming the director back in 2001. The current economy is having an adverse effect on our daily operations — as well as on those of our many partner businesses and agencies.

Just this past month, our two contracts with the Hamilton County Adult Probation department were terminated due to funding issues.

Earlier this year, funding agreements we had with two other agencies were reduced in scope for the same reason. In addition, both of our annual special events — while still financially successful — raised less for LCW than the previous year’s efforts.

Yet the need for remedial education is still pressing in our community, perhaps now more than ever. The gap between an individual’s education level and earning potential has never been wider. Companies are downsizing, which forces qualified workers to accept lower-paying jobs, while new applicants are being shoved down the income ladder. The least skilled have been expelled from the job market altogether.

As a result, 2009 was our busiest year in terms of the number of students served. More than 400 students came through the doors of at least one of our three locations (Price Hill, Camp Washington and downtown at the Adult Probation building). All were looking to either earn their high school equivalency diploma or find a job — or, in many cases, both.

They needed help….but more importantly, they needed hope. They needed to believe that if they worked hard, things would get better. Hope was their motivation for returning to school by enrolling into LCW.

It is our purpose, then, to cultivate our students’ hopes, and I take that responsibility seriously. At times it can feel like a heavy weight on my shoulders.

But lately, I find myself drawing inspiration from the beautiful Sequoia trees of Northern California.

These trees are the largest living things on our planet. Some are more than 100 yards tall and weigh upwards of 2,000 tons. They are truly incredible. Their trunks are so wide — if you hollowed one out, you could probably drive your car right through!

Yet what’s most amazing about the Sequoia trees is not necessarily their size, or their beauty, but rather their means of continued existence.

You see, these trees grow in clusters called groves, and these groves are necessary for each individual tree’s survival.

Naturally a tree this large will have tremendous roots. In the case of the Sequoia, these roots can grow up to 300 yards long. Yet the Sequoia has learned to shoot its roots outward — perpendicular to the trunk and parallel to its branches — as opposed to downward.

These roots will then intertwine with the roots of the other Sequoias in the grove. In effect, they grab on to each other — along with the roots of the weaker trees and the burgeoning saplings — and hold each other up. This process allows all the trees in the grove to grow tall, strong and true.

*****

I wonder...can we do that? As a community, can we reach out, grab hold of each other, and maybe prop up for a time those who most need the help?

I hope so, because this holiday season, Literacy Center West is going to need our friends — and our students are going to need your strong roots to hold them in place as they learn, grow and work toward becoming self-sufficient.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and holiday season.

All my best —

Jason Hecker

It's the Little Things

This is Justin, a student in our Next Level program. Today Justin had an interview at Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches.

One thing we try to teach our students is how to interview appropriately.

But we don't stop there. We test them on their skills by running mock interviews. Then we make sure they have the proper clothing.

For women, that means signing them up for an appointment at Dress for Success, where volunteers fit them with lovely outfits (including full suits, shoes, handbag, and jewelry!) assembled from gently-used donations.

But there's no local agency like Dress for Success for men's interviewing clothing needs. So we created a closet here and filled it with button-down shirts and dress pants donated by the male friends of Literacy Center West.

But sometimes it takes more than clothes to get ready. So after we helped Justin find the right outfit, we let him borrow a shave kit we keep in-house.

Then we drove him to get a haircut before the interview that we'd arranged for him.

Within an hour, Justin looked like a new man. By next week he'll hear if he got a new job. In the meantime, Justin now has the skills, the clothes and the look to successfully continue putting in applications this weekend.

It really is these little efforts that make the big difference when we're helping disadvantaged young people learn how to enter and advance in the workforce.

Postscript: We're always grateful for your dropped-off donations of men's button-down shirts, dress pants, and dress shoes!

Hard-working students set an example for the next generation

Anthony Skidmore must feel like he hit the jackpot. After months of studying for the GED test, scouring job postings, submitting applications, and dressing for interviews, last week Anthony passed his GED test AND landed a job making $23.50 an hour.

The quiet 21-year-old was all smiles when he came in with his 2-year-old son, Anthony, Jr., or “A.J.,” to see his GED test scores.


Anthony showed his son the GED classroom where “Daddy studied.” He also pointed to his sister’s name on Literacy Center West’s plaque of GED graduates. Anthony’s name will now be posted among those graduates, too. The other GED classroom students will miss him, though – while he studied, Anthony generously took time out to help explain math problems to other students who were struggling.

“It was overall good experience for me,” Anthony said of coming to Literacy Center West. “I had help when I needed it and the teachers here were nice.”

Anthony had left the traditional school system because he was withdrawn to be homeschooled. Unfortunately, like for too many youth, homeschooling didn’t work out for Anthony when he was kicked out of his house.

Now Anthony can finally pursue his goal of going to college, where he’d like to study computer science. Meanwhile, his girlfriend Laura plans to start studying for her GED at Literacy Center West, too.

Lucky A.J. is growing up in a loving, hardworking household that appreciates the value of an education.

A Budding Artist

Dafonta comes to us from Winton Terrace and is currently enrolled in The Next Level program. The 17-year-old loves to draw. He especially enjoys drawing anime style warriors.

"I draw because of my imagination and passion for it. It’s fun to draw and when I finish and look at the picture, I think 'wow I did it and I practiced for a long time and it paid off.'”

"I want my GED because I really need it to get the jobs I want and to succeed in life. It will help me get a better future for myself and my family."

Busy Busy Busy

This week has been a busy one for the staff and students at LCW. I don't know if it's the back-to-school buzz or just something in the air, but students have been pouring in and we have more coming every day.

The capacity crowd took some careful management, but a little rearrangement and some careful space usage got everyone in and working hard. Some of our more industrious students even took advantage of the nice weather and studied outside in the park.

The classroom filled up quickly.

Trying to make a little more room.

Squeezing in, always room for one more.

Anthony working on his math skills for the GED next month.

Kenyon gives instruction in the shade.

Kandice getting it done in the sunshine.