Special guests included Long Branch Mayor John Pallone and Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling and Assemblywoman Joann Downey.

Welcome to our new Program Director: Jhanna Even

We are excited to introduce Jhanna Even, our new Program Director for Literacy NJ Monmouth. Jhanna recently received her TESOL certificate and has been teaching ESL at Brookdale Community College. Jhanna has extensive experience with nonprofit fund development and marketing. Prior to her work in ESL, Jhanna was the Director of Development for Ocean’s Harbor House, a shelter for homeless youth. Jhanna has a M.A. in International Affairs from The American University, a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish from SUNY Binghamton, and a Certificate in Non-Profit Management and Leadership Development from Brookdale Community College. Jhanna speaks Spanish and Russian.

Annual Fundraising Event – Literacy For All
When: May 3, 2019
Time: 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Where: 50 Luffburrow Lane, Middletown, NJ

Our 2019 Honorees
Literacy New Jersey – Literacy Education Excellence Award
Rebecca Lucas – Literacy Advocate Award
Suzanne Peters – Literacy Champion Award

June, 2018

FY2017-18 Annual Recognition Dinner: Award Winners
This year’s award winners are:

Ayse Y – ESL Student of the year
Lori Cortiglia – ESL Tutor of the year
Maria – Basic Literacy Student of the year
Joe Pergola – Basic Literacy Tutor of the year
Read their accomplishments by clicking on their names.

May 4, 2018

Annual Fundraising Dinner 2018 – Race for Literacy

2018 Honorees at our Race for Literacy, Annual Fundraising Dinner:

Literacy Education Excellence Award: Trudy and Charlie Parton of Little Silver, saw an opportunity to give back to the community and worked with LVMC to tutor several students. Trudy began tutoring in 2010 and Charlie followed in 2015. In addition to their volunteering with individual students, the couple was instrumental in establishing LVMC’s partnership with Lunch Break in Red Bank offering ESL classes to Lunch Break participants.

Literacy Advocate Award: Victor Rodrigues, Branch Manager, Investors Bank, Long Branch, contacted LVMC in 2016 to see how Investors Bank could help the local community. With his guidance, LVMC applied for its first Financial Literacy grant in 2017. The funds provided the foundation for LVMC’s Financial Literacy Workshops which reached 74 adults in 2017. Victor supplied the curriculum for these classes and provided materials to supplement the instruction. In addition, Victor added LVMC to Investors Bank’s Care2Share Affinity Program so interested individuals could contribute quarterly to LVMC.

Literacy Champion Award: Julie Richards of Colts Neck dedicated numerous hours as a volunteer in support of LVMC’s fundraising events. As a master gift-basket designer, she has shared her talents in designing the gift baskets for various organizations’ fundraisers including LVMC, as well as participating in our annual Barnes & Noble Book Fairs. She also presented workshops at LVMC to volunteers of other non-profits on gift basket design.

April 30, 2018

Our student Kim Davis’s story in Asbury Park Press, April 30th, 2018

Click here to read the article

Feb 19, 2018

Annual Fundraising Dinner 2018 – Race for Literacy
Save the Date: May4, 2018

At the event we are honoring outstanding Literacy Supporters in Monmouth County
Trudy & Charlie Parton “Literacy Education Excellence Award”
Julie Richards “Literacy Champion Award”
Investors Bank – Victor Rodrigues “Literacy Advocate Award”
Fundraiser Awards Press Release – read here

May 5, 2017

Annual Fundraising Dinner 2017 – Bridges to Literacy
2017 Honorees at our Bridges to Literacy, Annual Fundraising Dinner:
Harry Scher “Literacy Champion Award”
David Kuykendall “Literacy Education Excellence Award”
Monmouth University “Literacy Advocate Award”
click on the names to read their bios

Harry Scher, Monmouth University Provost Laura Moriarty and David Kuykendall

January 4, 2017

Rebecca Lucas, Executive Director of LV Monmouth, speaks about Adult Literacy Programs on Comcast Newsmakers, January 4, 2017

May 6, 2016

Annual Fundraising Dinner 2016 – Applause for Literacy
2016 Honorees at our Applause for Literacy, Annual Fundraising Dinner:
Jessica Tomkins “Literacy Champion Award”
Daniel Koellhoffer “Literacy Education Excellence Award”
Two River Theater “Literacy Advocate Award”
click on the names to read their bios

Daniel Koellhoffer, Joan Rechnitz, Jessica Tomkins & Dr. Robert Rechnitz

Justin, BL student speaker at the fundraiser with his tutor Bill Mahon

Save the date : May 6, 2016

“Applause for Literacy” Our Annual Recognition Dinner

June 10, 2015

FY2014-15 Annual Recognition Dinner: Award Winners
This year’s award winners are Yamileth Padilla as our ESL Student of the year and Margaret Stewart as the ESL Tutor of the year. Read their accomplishments by clicking on the names.

Margaret Stewart(ESL tutor), Yamileth Padilla(ESL Student) & Rebecca Lucas(Exe. Director of LVMC)

May 1, 2015

Annual Fundraising Dinner 2015
Our 2015 Honorees at our Jazz It Up for Literacy, Annual Fundraising Dinner:
Abby Daly “Literacy Champion Award”
Amy DiFilippo “Literacy Education Excellence Award”
Christine Stout “Literacy Advocate Award”
click on the names to read their bios

July 28, 2015

Thanks to Musicians On A Mission for their generous donation

Travis Johnson, Board Member of Musicians On A Mission and Rebecca Lucas, Executive Director of LV Monmouth

March 20, 2015

May 1st will find us honoring Abby Daly from Bridge of Books, Amy DiFilippo, LVMC tutor and trainer, and Christine Stout, Friend of Literacy volunteer, as we host our annual Fundraising Dinner, Jazz It Up for Literacy, at the Navesink County Club. Save the date and plan to come for a wonderful evening of good food, good friends, a student speaker and the lovely classical jazz music of Audra Mariel, who will be singing songs from the Great American Jazz Notebook.

December 11, 2014

Rebecca Lucas, Executive Director of LV Monmouth, speaks about Family Literacy Programs on Comcast Newsmakers, December 11, 2014

November 14, 2014
Amy DiFilippo, LVMC tutor trainer and volunteer tutor, was awarded the Junior League of Monmouth County 2014 Women Making a Difference: Community Volunteer Award at a luncheon on November 14, 2014 at the Molly Pitcher Inn, Red Bank, NJ.

Freeholder Serena DiMaso, Amy DiFilippo & Deborah Pettrone, Jr. League of MC President

November 1, 2014
Tutor Daniel Koellhoffer was the recipient of the 2014 award for Tutor Excellence at the Literacy New Jersey annual Literacy for Life Conference on November 1, 2014.

Tutor Daniel Koellhoffer accepting the 2014 Tutor Excellency Award from LNJ Board President Perrine Robinson-Geller.

June 4, 2014
Annual Recognition Dinner for Tutors, Students and Volunteers
On June 4, more than 100 students, tutors, volunteers, board members and staff met to celebrate the accomplishments of our tutors and students during the 2013-2014 fiscal year. This year’s award winners included Mary G. as our Basic Literacy Student of the Year, Beverly Muldoon as the Basic Literacy Tutor of the Year, Vicky Lee as our ESL Student of the Year, Daniel Koellhoffer as the ESL Tutor of the Year and Usha Sataluri as our Volunteer of the Year.

Basic Literacy Tutor of the Year Award Winner, Beverly Muldoon with 2014 Basic Literacy Student of the Year Award Winner, Mary G.

Tutor Kathleen Barrett & 2014 ESL Student of Year Award Winner, Vicky Chen Lee

ESL Tutor of the Year, Daniel Koellhoffer with director, Rebecca Lucas

2014 Volunteer of the Year Award winner, Usha Sataluri with Susan George, Tutor/Student Coordinator

May 2, 2014
World of Literacy Fundraising

The award winners: Barry Semple, Marilyn Broege and Tom White

On May 2, 2014 our annual fundraising dinner was held at the Navesink Country Club. Honorees included Barry Semple, “Literacy Education Excellence Award, Tom White, “ Literacy Champion Award and Marilyn Broege, “Literacy Advocate Award”. Over 100 friends-of-literacy attended this event which raised over $23,000 to help fund our adult and family literacy programs. This will be very helpful as we were notified of a $20,000 reduction in the grant monies that we receive from the federal WIOA II grant for 2014-2015.

September 23, 2013
Adult and Family Literacy Week, September 23 – 29th
Article written by Judy Alvarez
September 23 to 29 is Adult and Family Literacy week, but volunteers at Literacy Volunteers of Monmouth County (LVMC), a nonprofit organization that is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, know how important literacy skills are year round.

LVMC provides tutoring to adults who want to achieve their personal dreams and potential through improved literacy.

Over the past three decades we have trained countless volunteers to become tutors to adults who need to improve their English literacy skills in reading, writing and/or conversational English. Today we have more than 120 active tutors who serve more than 600 students each year. These students come from 39 different countries including the United States.

But literacy skills are important to everyone regardless of age.
Although LVMC does not tutor children, we recognize the importance of family literacy and for children to be raised in an environment where literacy is appreciated. Reading, writing and speaking skills can be fostered and encouraged at home, as well as at school. Reading just 20 minutes a day to a child for one year will expose them to 1 million words and increase spelling grammar and writing skills.

Family literacy takes place during daily routines in life whether it’s writing a grocery list, speaking with a teacher or doctor, or reading a book.
Research shows that young children who are read to regularly and have books in their homes, have a head start on reading and literacy skills when they enter school. And children whose parents are involved in family literacy activities score 10 points higher on standardized reading tests.

This past summer, as part of the United Way of Monmouth County’s early Grade Reading Grant and in collaboration with the Horizons Enrichment Program, Rumson, and Bridge of Books, Red Bank, LVMC offered a 10-week Family Literacy class to the parents of Red Bank elementary school children who were attending the Horizons Enrichment Program. While Horizon students participated in swimming lessons at the Red Bank YMCA, their parents met with tutors for one-to-one English tutoring. Parents and their children then joined together to work on a project related to the books that parents were given to read to their children by Bridge of Books.

LVMC will continue its mission to promote increased literacy for adults and encourage them to share their love of the written word with the entire family.

The next volunteer-tutor training session will be held Mondays, Oct. 7, 21, 28 and Nov. 4, 18, 25, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Neptune Public Library, 25 Neptune Blvd., Neptune. Cost is $10 non-refundable registration fee and an additional $35 for books and materials due at the first session for books and materials. Refresher courses are free to trained tutors.

For more information on LVMC or how to become a tutor, visit www.lvmonmouth.org or call 732-571-0209.

Rebecca Lucas
Executive Director, Literacy Volunteers of Monmouth County

*Statistics from ProLiteracy

May 2, 2013
“Spotlight On Literacy” 30th Anniversary Dinner – May 2, 2013
Honoring Outstanding Literacy Supporters in Monmouth County
Ted Nappi, WithumSmith & Brown, Literacy Champion Award
Carl DeJura, Brookdale Community College, Literacy Education Excellence Award
Sarah Stewart, LV Monmouth Volunteer, Literacy Advocate Award

LVMC Awards 2011-12
Volunteer of the Year – Lynn Spector
ESL Student of the Year – Andres Vizuete
ESL Tutor of the Year – Irene Hsu
Basic Literacy Student of the Year – Rick Morgan
Basic Literacy Tutor of the Year – Bill Pointon

Read about our award winners below:

Lynn Spector – Volunteer of the Year 2012

Congressman Frank Pallone with Lynn Spector… more pictures on our Facebook

Many of you may know Lynn from the other organizations that she belongs to but most of you don’t know how Lynn has become Literacy Volunteers of Monmouth County’s Volunteer of the Year for 2012.

I met Lynn when our children were attending the same elementary school and we were both active in the Parent Council. When I took over as the ED for LVMC 8 years ago I found the organization to be in a holding pattern; very few new tutors were being trained, the numbers of students being served was very low, and the organization had not had a successful fundraiser in quite some time.

After being at LVMC for one year I decided it was time for a fundraiser and met with Lynn and asked for her help in planning our first event. Since that time she has actively worked to make our events continue to be successes. Lynn
– Donates her time
– Donates items
– Gets friends to donate items
– Opens her house for committee work (great cook)
– Donates fabulous dinners to be auctioned off at our fundraising dinner
– She beats the bushes to get people to attend events when the numbers are low
– She supports us monetarily each year
– Willingly shares her expertise in fundraising so that we can further our mission

Lynn has volunteered her entire life. Since moving to Monmouth County, 20 years ago she has been actively involved in many organizations such as the VNA of Central New Jersey,
The Monmouth County Day Care Center, the Rumson Country Day School as both Parent Council President and a member of the Board of Trustees, the Monmouth County Historical Association and most recently Lynn serves on the Dean’s Council of New York University’s School of Social Work. Likewise she co-chaired the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the VNA of Central New Jersey this past July.

We choose to honor Lynn Spector as this year’s Volunteer of Year for her generosity and commitment to promoting adult literacy in Monmouth County! We wouldn’t be where we are today without her generosity.

Andres Vizuete – ESL Student of the Year 2011 -2012

ESL Student of the Year, Andres Vizuete with his tutors

Many of Andres fellow students and tutors also know him by his nickname, Nacho which he acquired in his native country, Ecuador. However, when I think of Nachos, I see a plate of yummy chips, covered in cheese and peppers and this image does not mesh with Andres, the well spoken, confident, caring and committed ESL student.

Andres first came to LV Monmouth and attended our Freehold ESL group on Monday evenings in a class led by tutor, Lauren Dempsey. Not only did Andres attend this class he attends the Wednesday evening class with tutors Chris Henely and Joseph Pearson, the Thursday Conversational English class with tutor, Sandra Whitehill and he took the US Citizenship preparation class at Georgian Court University as well as meeting one-to-one with tutor, Kathy Schneider. To say that Andres is serious about learning English is an understatement!

He is committed to learning for himself, his family and he is a motivating example to other ESL students, encouraging them to work hard, do their homework, come to class and participate.

Andres has a big heart and he is always willing to help others, whether it’s with learning English, changing a brake-light bulb for his tutor, or encouraging other students to take part in workshops and conferences and learn as much as they can, alongside himself.

Andres has a wonderful sense of humor and he is always joking with his tutors and classmates and he is a friend of all. Recently, when a fellow worker at his job laughed at how he was pronouncing an English word, instead of taking offense he made it his personal goal to find out the correct pronunciation and memorize it so that he could use it correctly. He sees many situations in his life as learning experiences and he is determined to succeed.

Because of Andres’s commitment to learning, his ability to encourage others to succeed, his giving nature and sense of playful humor, we are proud to award him the 2011-2012 ESL Student of the Year Award.

Irene Hsu – ESL Tutor of the Year Award 2011 – 2012

ESL Tutor of the Year Irene Hsu with fellow tutor Brigita Graf and students

Irene became a volunteer tutor for LV Monmouth in 2009. Her goal was to offer ESL classes to immigrants at the Middletown Public Library. After completing her tutor training she approached the chief librarian to see if they would be interested in partnering with LV Monmouth to provide English classes at the library. They were receptive and since then Irene has been offering English classes with fellow tutor, Brigitta Graf, every Tuesday evening, September through May.

Irene is a very modest person. When she was called with the news that she had been chosen for this year’s ESL Tutor of the Year award she wanted to decline, feeling that others were more deserving. The committee felt otherwise and we are very pleased that she is here with some of her students tonight.

Irene is originally from China but has lived in the US for many years. She knows first-hand the importance of learning English in order to participate fully in our culture and communities. Irene knows how difficult learning English can be and because of this she has great empathy for her ESL students and their struggles to learn English.

Irene exhibits qualities of what we hope every tutor will bring to their tutoring sessions. She is committed, creative, compassionate, encouraging, tough, loving and flexible and has a good sense of humor. A perfect example of her nature can be read in the tribute to her by recent student, Wei Zha, who Irene helped with English proficiency skills. Because of Irene’s help, Wei was able to take the GMAT and pass the interview to enter graduate school here in the US. (see the first story in this year’s booklet)

Over the years, when Irene has seen individual students struggling in her ESL classes, she has asked to take them on individually as well as in the group. She meets with these students so that they can gain confidence, make progress and participate with the rest of the class.

Irene is committed to her students, our organization and her community. She has attended many of our workshops, roundtables and in-services in order to improve her tutoring skills and then she passes what she has learned on to her students.

Because of Irene’s desire to help her students become confident in their English skills as well as their life’s goals, and because of Irene’s great compassion and empathy we are proud to honor her with our 2011 -2012 ESL Tutor of the Year Award.

Rick Morgan – Basic Literacy Student of the Year Award 2011-2012(see photo below)
Like many of our basic literacy students, Rick came in and out of LV Monmouth for different reasons over a period of seven years.

In 2010 Rick made a serious commitment to return to LV Monmouth to work toward his literacy and life goals. It was then that he was matched with his current tutor, Bill Pointon.

Not only was Rick looking and needing to improve his reading and writing skills he was also looking for a mentor who could help him acquire life skills to succeed in life.

Since Rick began working with Bill, he has not only improved his reading and writing skills he has also gained enough self confidence to apply, interview and obtain a good paying job and to speak at his local church. He is now reading on his own and he is continuing his education by studying to become a boiler operator and obtain his license to do so.

Rick’s commitment to learning and his new found confidence has enabled him to speak to others. He is no longer embarrassed to admit that he had difficulties reading and writing. He has shared his journey by speaking at his church and most recently at our annual fundraising dinner in April. Rick encourages others to get help with their personal literacy goals and he leads by example, rarely missing a tutoring session, doing his homework, and taking a chance when he is not certain he will succeed.

We are proud of Rick’s accomplishments, his determination and his new found confidence, and we are happy to award him the 2011- 2012 Basic Literacy Student of the Year Award.


Basic Literacy Tutor of the Year, Bill Pointon with Basic Literacy Student of the year, Rick Morgan

Bill Pointon – Basic Literacy Tutor of the Year
Bill came to LV Monmouth via his wife and my friend, Ginny, whom I have known for years. Bill served in the US Coast Guard as a Chief Petty Officer and trained as an electronic technician. After retiring from the Coast Guard he went to work as a customer service electrician for Adamatic and retired from there in 2007. Bill was always very interested in what Literacy Volunteers did and in 2010 he decided to take our tutor-training. After completing his training he was matched with his current student, Rick Morgan.

Bill threw himself into tutoring Rick. Bill took to heart LV Monmouth’s saying that “The Student is Our Curriculum” and he set out to discover what Rick’s goals were and how he could help Rick achieve them using tutoring techniques and tools that he learned in training and from other
sources that would get his student where he wanted to go has been the way Bill tutors. Realizing that Rick was having difficulty reading on his own, Bill did some research on the computer and came up with a software program called “Dragon” that turns text to speech so that the student can read the word and hear how it sounds. This program has helped Rick immensely when reading on his own and after seeing what a difference it made for Rick Bill sent the office the link to share it with us and our state organization, LV New Jersey.

Bill, as a tutor, is a motivator. He has given his student self confidence by helping him learn how to master life skills while continuing to improve his literacy skills. Bill provides “tough love” through encouragement, praise, and accountability.

Getting to know Bill has been a pleasure. He is what we like to call a Life Long Learner; if something piques his curiosity he goes all out, learning what he needs to know in order to do it, fix it, or just have information about it. His most recent passion (beside Literacy Volunteers) is becoming a Ham Radio Operator and communicating with people all over the world.
Bill has a great capacity to encourage others to succeed. He is innovative, consistent and tough while being supportive and encouraging. Bill has show his commitment to LV Monmouth and adult literacy by attending conferences, workshops and roundtables, by gift wrapping with his wife at our Barnes & Noble event and by demonstrating a tutor/student tutoring session at our tutor trainings. If Bill had not chosen to go into the US Coast Guard and had had an opportunity to go to college I think he would have made an inspirational teacher.

September, 2011
Judy Alvarez’s article on John Jones in the September 2011 issue of the Two River Times. Click here
February 1, 2012
Comcast interview with Executive Director Rebecca Lucas

April 30, 2011
Our ESL student David and Basic Literacy Student Jefferson were awarded the 2010-2011 Student Excellence Award on April 30, 2011 at the LVNJ annual Literacy for Life Conference. Our congratulations to David and his tutor David Kuykendall and to Jefferson and his tutor Isabel Kupilik.

David in his acceptance speech spoke about his experience learning English and the support that has helped him succeed. Click here to listen to David’s speech.

April 24, 2010
Christopher Vecere, tutor, volunteer and LVMC board member, was honored with the 2009-2010 Award for Volunteer Excellence based on his many volunteering activities for both LVMC and LVNJ. He was recognized for his contributions on April 24 at the LVNJ annual Literacy for Life Conference.