Half-Time VOCAL AmeriCorps Member: Serve Adult Literacy Students and Adult Volunteer Literacy Programs

Expand the volunteer base of community based volunteer literacy programs and increase services being offered to low literate and limited English-speaking adults and out of school teens.

ABOUT LVI:
LVI is a leading organization within the national service movement and has through five different federal and state AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) programs engaged over 1,000 national service members in some 150 adult literacy, family literacy, and Head Start programs throughout the state.

ABOUT VOCAL:
LVI's current national service program, VOCAL AmeriCorps (Volunteer Outreach for Community Action in Literacy) places Full Time (1700 hour), Part Time (900 hour), Quarter Time (450 Hour) and Minimum Time (300 Hour) members serving in volunteer literacy programs throughout the state.

LVI is currently recruiting for the 24-25 program year. VOCAL 2024-2025 program year begins September 1st, 2024 and ends August 31st, 2025.

BENEFITS
Half Time: 900 hours; $10,000 Living Allowance; $3697 Education Award

WHAT YOU’LL DO
As VOCAL AmeriCorps member, your service will focus on adult literacy programs offered to low-literate and limited English speaking adults and out-of-school teens. AmeriCorps members serve as one-to-one and small group tutors, become involved with volunteer recruitment and retention activities, and assist their partner organization in obtaining resources that will benefit the adults and families they serve. Primary responsibilities include:

Literacy Support:
Plan tutoring sessions and provide small group and one-to-one literacy tutoring to low
literate and limited English speaking adults and out-of-school teens.
Conduct basic skills and literacy assessments for adult learners
Encourage and support adult learners by helping them develop confidence and a positive attitude about learning; Respecting them and involving them in decisions about the learning process
Select materials and approaches that are suitable for the adult learners’ ability and needs
Track learner progress through regular assessments and submit reports.

Volunteer Recruitment:
Assist with volunteer management including orientations, logistics, and volunteer tracking
Work with Site Supervisor to ensure consistent, excellent volunteer experiences
Assist with volunteer data management and individual volunteer coordination
Recruit, schedule and coordinate individual volunteers
Assist with communication projects aimed at volunteers (social media, newsletter, content development, etc.)
Coordinate volunteer recognition activities.

Other responsibilities include:
Engaging community members in education or social issues through member led themed events
at their organization or sites across Chicago
Attending Monthly trainings
Participating in Days of Services
Documenting your experience through videos and/or pictures

HOST SITES SEEKING HALF-TIME MEMBERS INCLUDE:

Centro Romero, 6216 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60660
Centro Romero, located on the northeast side of Chicago in the Edgewater neighborhood, is a non-profit organization providing options and opportunities for low-income Latino and other immigrants. Services offered include ESL and Spanish Literacy, Family Literacy, Immigration Services, and various programs for youth and women. Through education, Centro Romero emphasizes the development of the whole family unit, the creation of community leadership and self-reliance.
*Basic Spanish Skills Required

HANA Center, 4300 N California Ave. Chicago, IL 60618
HANA’s mission is to empower Korean American and multi-ethnic immigrant communities through social services, education, culture, and community organizing to advance human rights. HANA Center offers various language classes including English, Korean, and Spanish. HANA Center believes that culture and language are deeply intertwined and believe that language can become a tool to empower. Additionally, their citizenship classes provide immigrants with not only language skills, but also practical information and the confidence they need to navigate U.S. society and eventually improve the quality of their lives.
*Intermediate Korean Language Skills Required

Instituto del Progreso Latino (IDPL), 2570 S. Blue Island, Chicago, IL 60608 IDPL is an educational organization whose mission is to contribute to the fullest development of Latino immigrants and their families through education, training and employment. With offices in on the southwest side of Chicago and several different service locations, IDPL offers a continuum of adult education services from learning how to read in Spanish to the GED and onto college level classes ABE and pre-GED classes are also offered, as is English literacy for students with less than a 6th grade education in their first language. Also offered are computer literacy programs, internet access and employment-readiness and job placement assistance.
*Basic Spanish Language Skills Required

Jump Start at the Illinois Youth Centers (IYC)
A program of LVI that recruits retirees, especially retired teachers, to serve as tutors and
mentors for youth incarcerated in the IYC.
IYC-Chicago, 136 N. Western Avenue, Chicago, IL
IYC-Warrenville, 30 W 200 Ferry Road, Warrenville, IL 60555

Literacy Chicago, 641 W. Lake Street, Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60661
Literacy Chicago is a nonprofit organization that empowers individuals to achieve greater self-sufficiency through language and literacy instruction. For more than four decades, thousands of adults have participated in the broad range of programs Literacy Chicago has developed, including basic literacy, GED preparation, English as a Second Language. Workforce Development, and Citizenship Program. Literacy Chicago continues its learner-focused programming by relying heavily on the efforts of volunteer tutors, and frequently offers ancillary classes such as health literacy, computer literacy, and financial literacy, to support the language/literacy options.

Sunshine Community Services Center, 701 May Street, Kewanee, IL 61443 The Sunshine Community Services Center (SCSC) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that provides educational programming and other support services to children and families in the west central Illinois city of Kewanee. The SCSC is the sponsor of the Step Ladder Tutoring Program which operates in the city’s Middle Schools and through its CAPE-E (Communities Advancing Potential through Education and Empowerment) program, which is a collaboration with LVI, serves as a volunteer connector for various community agencies in the city of Kewanee. As part of its CAPE-E program, SCSC has full and part-time AmeriCorps serving in educational and empowerment capacities in the Step Ladder Tutoring Program and Black Hawk College.

LIVING ALLOWANCE

$800 - $1000 monthly

BENEFITS

Education award upon successful completion of service, Living allowance, Student loan forbearance, Training

EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

High School Graduate

DESIRED LANGUAGES

English, Korean, Spanish

OTHER CONDITIONS

Permits attendance at school during off hours
Subject to criminal background check