By K.C. Scott

Rowan County Literacy Council

A volunteer is defined as a person who freely offers to take part in an enterprise or undertake a task; however, to small non-profit organizations, a volunteer is a hero.

Let’s think about this for a second. You have some free time, what do you do? Read a book? Watch some TV? Putter around the house exclaiming that you’re bored? That last one might just be my kids, but you get the point.

For many Rowan County residents, when they have free time, they volunteer. Many of our non-profits here rely on volunteers and simply could not function without them. We’re one of those non-profits. Our volunteers are the backbone of our organization. We provide one-on-one tutoring for adults and kids who have low literacy skills; our students meet with tutors at least once a week, and our programs typically have no set end date. This takes an incredible kind of commitment, and one that we don’t take for granted.

I’m still at a loss for how to properly thank our volunteers. I don’t know that I’ll ever find the right formula to express how much we appreciate their service. The fact that they drove to their tutoring location versus staying in the comforts of their own home. The fact that they’re at home preparing activities and lessons for their students, who prior to being matched with them, had never met them before, yet they’re spending hours per week on helping this student get a little closer to their goals.

Tutoring is not an easy thing to do on its own, teaching an adult to read is even harder. It can be slow, and sometimes our tutors get frustrated that their student seems to make little or no progress. Until that student comes in one day and says they’ve read a book to their child for the first time, or they passed the U.S. Citizenship Exam and are now official U.S. citizens. That’s a feeling like no other.

We’re not the only organization who relies heavily on volunteers. Our local United Way, of which we are a member agency, counts on volunteers year-round, but particularly through campaign season, which is going on now. Volunteers have set out to raise close to $1.5 million this campaign season, and their success directly impacts the funding that their 16 member agencies receive, including the Rowan County Literacy Council.

For our organization, funds from United Way make up close to 30 percent of our annual budget. This funding goes towards purchasing quality learning materials for our tutors and students, and our testing and assessment software. It also ensures that our programs remain free for all our students.

So this campaign season, if you are approached to give, know that you’re being approached by a volunteer who is giving up their free time to do something that matters for our community. And that if you do decide to give, you’re giving to organizations who appreciate you more that you could ever know. I’m still trying to find the right formula for donors as well.

  K.C. Scott is executive director of the Rowan County Literacy Council.