They are people who love to read. They read books, magazines and newspapers and realize the wealth of information and communication that is made available by the internet and other technologies. They recognize the burden that society carries when a substantial portion of the population is illiterate.

What does it mean to be able to read?

Every time you pick up a newspaper or magazine, read the warning labels on your prescriptions, open a birthday card or letter from a friend, STOP and just for a minute – think how different your life would be if you could not read.

Cape Cod Literacy Council has a mission: To assure that every adult on Cape Cod will be literate.

How can you help us achieve our goal?

The finest legacy we can leave to those who come after us is a gift that makes the world better for our having been there. If you have a few hours a month and want to make Cape Cod better for your having been here, volunteer your time to the Cape Cod Literacy Council.

We hold volunteer training workshops regularly, provide the teaching techniques for your tutoring sessions, match you with students and work with you throughout the sessions to assure success.

For more information please call  

508-862-1305 or 508-862-1296.

Feedback from our Volunteers

We are always looking for feedback from our volunteers. Below are recent comments from 2 of them:

From Paul:

It is most important to me that as a volunteer, I participate in the class activities in assisting the instructor. I receive a lot of satisfaction in helping the students with the assigned class work. The ESOL class is Level 1 so, just trying to help the students with their oral and written work in comprehending basic English skills is important and gratifying.

From Karen:

This is the third year I have worked with level 3 HiSET students. I enjoy working with the students one-to-one (or two) and helping them read critically. Every student is so grateful for the help. I am always impressed by how hard they work in class. They often have full-time jobs and families to maintain besides the schoolwork.

Kelly Castro and Lynn Carver

Lynn Carver’s Story
“I’m involved in many activities, but I felt like I wanted to do something new to me. Last fall, I saw something in the newspaper about the Cape Cod Literacy Council. It sounded interesting and I ended up attending their training sessions. We learned about and practiced methods for tutoring adult learners. At the end of the training, I was matched with Kelly who grew up in Columbia and Aruba and spoke Spanish as her first language.

Kelly and I began meeting each week in the library at Cape Cod Community College. Immediately, I felt fortunate to have Kelly as my learner because she is very motivated and goal-oriented. She wants to become a nurse and needs to improve her English so that she can get accepted into the nursing program.

It has been a joy to work with Kelly. I have seen a huge improvement in her English in just a few months. What this amounts to for me is a very rewarding experience as a tutor. I highly recommend volunteer tutoring to everyone.”

Read more volunteer/student stories here.