Midcoast Literacy announces they will be holding two training sessions for new volunteer tutors in January: one for volunteers who want to work with kids, and one for volunteer English language tutors for adults. Working closely with the Midcoast New Mainers Support Group and Nsiona Nguizani, the cultural broker for Brunswick, Midcoast Literacy has been enrolling both school-age children and adult new Mainers in their one-on-one tutoring programs and matching them with volunteer tutors. The organization is now providing free tutoring for 16 adults and six children from the asylum-seeking families that relocated to the Bath/Brunswick region just four months ago. But more tutors are needed. In addition to helping this population of new arrivals, Midcoast Literacy is simultaneously providing tutoring for other adults and children in the region who are learning English or who may simply need help with a variety of literacy skills. More tutors are needed to work with both native and non-native English speakers alike.

“We have been extremely fortunate to have so many dedicated people volunteer with us over the years and to step forward recently to help with our newest neighbors in need of instruction in speaking and reading English,” says Katie Clark, program director. “We just hope there are even more individuals out there ready and willing to join us in the new year to help with this challenging and rewarding work.”

Midcoast Literacy will be holding two 3-day tutor trainings in January at their offices at 34 Wing Farm Parkway in Bath. Pre-registration and participation in all three days of each training is required. The first training is for those who want to work with children through the Read Together program. It will be held Jan. 6, 8 and 10, noon-4 p.m. For more information or to sign-up for the training, contact Katie Clark at k.clark@midcoastliteracy.org

The second training is for people who want to work with adult new Mainers who are learning to speak English. It will be held Jan. 21, 22 and 23, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information or to sign-up for the training, contact Don Lader at admin@midcoatlit.org

For people who may want to help recently arrived asylum-seekers in other ways, Midcoast Literacy is also helping establish a volunteer system and accompanying calendar so that volunteers can sign up to assist families in many ways, from driving people to appointments to providing childcare. For more information, please go to www.midcoastliteracy.org