THERE ARE MANY WAYS YOU CAN BE PART OF THE SOLUTION.

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Humboldt Literacy Project (HLP) connects adults 18+ who wish to improve their reading and writing with adult volunteer tutors for free, confidential, one-on-one English language tutoring.

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TUTORING:

Becoming a volunteer literacy tutor at Humboldt Literacy Project requires a special kind of person—someone patient, persistent, and a bit creative. No teaching credential or specific background is necessary. Your unique life experiences and your desire to help can make you a valuable English literacy tutor, contributing to someone in your community working towards their goals and enhancing their life.

 

We work with a diverse group, including those with basic literacy needs, some aiming to improve high school or college-level comprehension and composition, and others focused on learning English as a second language for broader goals.

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Most of our tutoring pairs meet for about 60-90 minutes, one or two times per week, at a time and location they have chosen together, studying with materials supplied by HLP. Some of our matches have been working together for several years!

 

Your privacy and safety are important to us. Humboldt Literacy Project believes literacy is for everyone, and we’re committed to serving all who seek our support. As a program of the Humboldt County Library and California State Library, we follow county and state legal procedures protecting the privacy of our clients and volunteers. Client and volunteer records are confidential in accordance with library privacy policies. Some anonymous demographic data is shared by HLP with the Library so they can understand our program, but your personal data is for HLP staff and volunteers only. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us. We’re here for you.

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1. To get started, complete our online volunteer tutor application here 

We host orientations for new volunteer tutors every 2-3 months, currently on Zoom, and you will be invited to the next one. Feel free to call or email with any questions.

 

2. While you're waiting, check out the job description here, and review your rights, and your responsibilities, too. This is supposed to be fun!

 

3. Within weeks of orientation, most tutors are matched with a learner, receiving personally curated study materials. Together, they establish a one-on-one study schedule and pace. In some cases, circumstances may extend the wait for a match, and we'll communicate accordingly. Remember we are here if you have any questions or need assistance with any aspect of your first or future meetings.

 

4. The learning process can be slow and challenging, so we ask our tutors to consider their volunteer work at HLP a long term commitment minimum length commitment 6 months. You don’t sign a contract, and you won’t be shamed if your life changes and you have to move on. We appreciate all of your efforts on behalf of HLP!

 

5. HLP will continue to support you with our Continuing Education series of workshops. We will hold these once per month and kindly ask that you attend 6 workshops for a 12 month period if you are a new tutor and 3 workshops for a 12 month period if you are an existing tutor.