February 2010 Archive

VLF Grant Announcement FY 2010-2011 (February 8, 2010)

The Virginia Literacy Foundation is pleased to announce that applications for our 2010-2011 matching grants are now available. If you are interested in applying, you may either request a packet of grant application forms by calling 804-237-8909, or download the required application forms at http://www.virginialiteracy.org/ under grants. New applicants are required to fill out a 2009 Survey Form and return it with their grant application. (This form is filled out once every three years.)

Our matching grants are offered in tiered categories. The amount of funding for which an organization is eligible is tied to the numbers of adult literacy students it served in the last full fiscal year.* Funding tiers are as follows:

Tier One: One-year matching grants
Programs that served 30-49 students* are eligible to apply for a $2,500 matching grant
Programs that served 50+ students* are eligible to apply for a $5,000 matching grant

Tier Two: Two-year matching grants (eligibility for this tier is at the VLF’s discretion).
Programs that served 200-399 students* are eligible to apply for $7,500 per year
Programs that served 400 + students* are eligible to apply for $10,000 per year

* "Students served" is defined as permanently matched adult students who have received at least six hours of basic literacy instruction in 2008-2009 in one or more of these areas: one-on-one tutoring, small group classes, family literacy (adult literacy component), pre-GED instruction, computer literacy, jail program, etc.

Once again, the Foundation will be awarding an annual total of $200,000 this grant cycle. Go to the Virginia Literacy Foundation's new website. http://www.virginialiteracy.org/

Please click on Grants in the sidebar under VLF projects. Then click on "About Our Grants."

1. 2010 Grant Cover Form
2. 2010-2011 grant application form (required)
3. 2009 survey form, Attachment A (required)
4. Budget Sheet (required)
5. Sample goals, objectives, and activities table (Optional)

If you cannot download these documents or if you have additional questions about the 2010-2011 matching grants, please contact Julia Norman at 804-237-8909 or vlilv@earthlink.net.

Grant deadline: March 19, 2010

Assistive Technology Tools: Reading (February 4, 2010)

There is a wide range of assistive technology (AT) tools available to help individuals who struggle with reading. While each type of tool works a little differently, all of these tools help by presenting text as speech. These tools help facilitate decoding, reading fluency, and comprehension. To learn more about assistive technology (AT) tools that can help in reading, click here.

Expanding ESL, Civics, and Citizenship Education in Your Community: A Start-Up Guide (February 3, 2010)

Many community, faith-based, and civic organizations and employers would like to help immigrants adjust to life in the United States and prepare for citizenship, but do not know where to begin. Fortunately, the experience and practices of existing English as a Second Language (ESL), civics, and citizenship programs for immigrants can help you get started.

The guide can be found at: http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/M-677.pdf

This guide offers suggestions and strategies providing a framework you can adapt to suit your community’s needs and circumstances.This guide outlines a start-up process of gathering relevant information and resources to help you develop and sustain your program, recruit and train volunteers, and recruit students. It also includes basic recommendations and sample forms and materials to help you start your program.

This guide is not intended to be a curriculum. Curricula and teaching guidelines can be found through our resource entitled U.S. Civics and Citizenship Online: Resource Center for Instructors , see the link to the left under "Educator & Volunteer Resources" on the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) site at http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

Bookshare

People with print disabilities deserve to enjoy reading as much as all other readers. Yet, currently fewer than five percent of the books needed by people with print disabilities are available in accessible formats such as digital text or digital Braille.

Bookshare 's goal is to raise the floor of access so that people with print disabilities can obtain a broad spectrum of print materials at the same time as everyone else.

People with visual impairments, physical disabilities and/or learning disabilities can look to Bookshare to dramatically increase the quantity and timely availability of books and newspapers in accessible formats. Further, Bookshare s vision encompasses new technological developments as well as new applications of widely available technologies to stretch the power of technology for increased access to content.

Bookshare is diligently working toward this goal by:

• Building the Bookshare digital library as rapidly as possible through Volunteers, partnerships, and publishers.
• Spreading the word so that everyone who is eligible to join Bookshare has the opportunity to do so.
• Expanding the choices of access technology available for people with print disabilities. Bookshare is leveraging new technological developments that make reading digital books easier.

To learn more about the Bookshare program, go to: http://www.bookshare.org/

To find out if you or one of your learners qualifies for Bookshare, go to: http://www.bookshare.org/about/membershipQualifications.