Literacy project has new home

Ed Robbins’ reason for tutoring through the Rockingham County Literacy Project is simple.

“There’s a need for it and somebody’s got to do it, so why not me?” Robbins, who teaches at Community Baptist School in Reidsville, said Thursday afternoon at the organization’s official grand opening.

Executive director Jean Light Kinyon said the project has been up and running since the 1980s, but over the years the location has changed. In April, the organization moved to 705-A Washington St., Eden. Kinyon said the center’s ribbon-cutting was held Thursday because it has taken awhile to get everything organized in the new location.

The countywide organization reaches out to local residents who struggle in the areas of reading and writing. The project matches students with tutors who meet with them for several hours each week.

Tutor Davene Girtman works with four women and said Kinyon tries to pair students with tutors based on age and other characteristics.

“It takes a lot of courage for people to step up and say they need help with reading, so she tries to match people that can relate to each other,” Girtman said.

Robbins works with one student, a man who, like him, is “over 70.”

“There’s no need for him to ever have another tutor,” Robbins said. “We’re going to be together until one of us dies.”

Kinyon said the need for tutors is great, as students generally have to be waitlisted until a tutor is available.

“If we had more tutors, we could certainly serve them,” she said.

Student Alla Mitchell, a minister at Wesley Chapel in Asheboro, had heart problems as a child and missed a lot of school.

“I missed out on a lot of the basics,” she said. She said she was on a waiting list for a tutor for more than a year before she was recently paired with Girtman.

Mitchell said the sessions have already begun making a difference, and she urges others who struggle with reading to seek help.

“So many people hide it and they really need to face up to it,” she said. “As long as I hid it, I was in bondage.”

For both Girtman and Robbins, the joy from tutoring comes from seeing their students grow and learn more. Girtman said her students take the sessions mostly for personal gain, but there are others who sign up in hopes of finding a better job.

Robbins’ student wants to become a better reader so he can read to his grandchildren.

In addition to basic reading classes, the organization also offers GED tutoring and English as a Second Language classes.

To be a tutor, Kinyon said interested participants need to be at least 18 years old and hold a high school diploma or a GED certificate. Training consists of 12 hours, plus six more to be an ESL tutor. For more information, call (336) 627-0007 or visit www.rcliteracyproject.