Thanks to the Annunziato Family Foundation, Houston Center for Literacy hosted the Literacy Forward Adult Basic Education (ABE) Train-theTrainer, a no-cost workshop for eighteen member organizations in the Greater Houston, Third Ward, Sharpstown, Bay Area and La Porte communities. By training the trainers at these eighteen organizations, HCL was able to touch 6,621 learners in those communities with improved ABE services.
HCL, in collaboration with Technology For All and the Broadband Technology Opportunities Programs (BTOP), provided open access to computer labs with high speed internet Monday through Friday in two of our Demonstration Learning Centers and at the City of Houston-Magnolia Multiservice Center. These classes help local populations improve their computer skills in order to find employment, receive a promotion and help their children with their homework.
Houston Center for Literacy, in partnership with Technology for All and Stand for Children, provided 28 Basic Internet classes, reaching 646 learners. These classes were offered at no cost and are open to the general public. Stand for Children provides a Spanish-language basic Internet workshop designed to assist participants in becoming familiar with basic computer skills.
VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT On September 22, 2011, HCL recruited literacy volunteers at the Brilliant Lecture Series event, “An Evening with Dr. Maya Angelou.” Approximately 800 Houstonians participated in this “Right to Literacy” event, at which HCL distributed literacy volunteer applications and encouraged people to volunteer through speeches at the event.
HCL hosted the Freedom through Literacy Independence: READ, White & Blue Professional Development conference on July 5, 2011. The workshop developed special tracks to benefit each type of literacy professional, equipping our valued instructors and staff with tools and concepts to build a successful classroom experience, to enhance program performance and to work with colleagues and students alike to make our time together positive, fruitful and fun.
HCL hosted Literacy Night at Minute Maid Park in September 2011. There were 400 learners, teachers, tutors and administrators from the Mayor’s Coalition for Literacy in attendance at the Houston Astros’ baseball game cheering for the home team against the Philadelphia Phillies. Richard Capuchino, representative for The McGraw-Hill Companies, joined Sheri Foreman and three Learners of the Year on the baseball field to spur volunteerism in Houston’s literacy agencies.
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