TAKE A LITERACY JOURNEY with Literacy Connections

We invite you on a literacy journey as we reflect and celebrate the ten year history of Literacy Connections of Wayne County.  

WHERE did the idea of a literacy center come from?  In 2008 the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce’s Education Committee identified adult literacy as a critical need for the advancement of local workforce development in Wayne County. 

From there, United Way stepped up with initial grant funding to address that need.  A part-time Executive Director was hired in 2010 and the first agency operations started in a one-room space at the library under the financial umbrella of the Wayne Charitable Partnership.   Volunteer tutors were recruited and matched with adult literacy students similar to the way the program still operates today.

The literacy program outgrew the little space at the library and in 2012 moved further up Ash Street and settled into the old Nash Printing building.  A full-time Executive Director was hired along with additional staff to meet the growing need.    

              

With growth comes the need for additional funding, so in 2012 our signature annual fundraiser, Reading Between the Wines was created. This popular event has provided an intimate gathering with North Carolina authors every year since. 

A United Way initiative called Bank on Wayne brought program expansion once again in 2014 and with it an additional staff member. Literacy Connections began
another leg on our journey, this time in support of financial literacy. 

Literacy Connections established agency bylaws in 2014, filed Articles of Incorporation in 2015, and finally, in 2017 we set a course as our own non-profit out from under the Wayne Charitable Partnership. That was a proud moment!

Follow us as we share the journeys of four of our students, one each month and see how your support plays an important part in their success.  Until next time, together we are growing a literacy rich community! 

Literacy Connections was organized to provide and promote free literacy services in order for all adults to have the literacy skills to succeed at home, at work, and in our county.