Volunteers are at the foundation of who we are and what we do. In LVCC’s tutoring program, volunteers tutor one-to-one, tutor in small groups of 2-4 students or team-teach classes of up to 10 students. Most of our students are English Language Learners from a diverse group of countries around the world. All students are 18 years of age or older.
Where: LVCC operates in 15 towns in central Connecticut. Our main office is in New Britain, but we also work with students and tutors in Middletown, Berlin, Bristol, Burlington, Cromwell, Durham, East Haddam, East Hampton, Haddam, Marlborough, Middlefield, Plainville, Portland, and Southington. Tutors and students only meet in public locations.
When: We ask volunteers to commit to 2 hours a week at the times that best suit their availability. Tutoring may happen between the hours of 9am and 8pm, Monday through Friday. There are also limited opportunities for tutoring on Saturdays.
What we teach: Although we primarily teach English to Speakers of Other Languages, we also offer digital literacy classes, citizenship classes, basic literacy tutoring (reading and writing for English speakers), and math tutoring.
Experience needed? There is no experience needed to be a Literacy Volunteer! All volunteers will complete a tutor training that will fully equip you to be a confident and successful tutor. We are always excited to work with current or retired educators and multilingual volunteers, but you don’t need to speak any foreign languages to be a great tutor. Whatever your level of experience is, we’d love to have you!
Many of our volunteers tell us that being a Literacy Volunteer is the best thing they have ever done. Not only are they helping others, but their lives are greatly enriched through the relationships they develop with their students.
My experience as an LVCC tutor has been a high point of my life. I hope that I have helped my students improve their English and to navigate various issues over the years. I know that the women I have tutored have enormously enriched my life; they have taught me about other cultures and religions, greatly piqued my interest in further exploring the world, and simply developed into treasured friends. I would not trade the experience for any other!*
*Volunteers must be at least 18 years old and have a high school diploma or equivalent.