“Every adult literacy learner I’ve met or heard about inspires me. They come from all walks of life and socio-economic backgrounds. Of course, some are non-native English speakers from other countries. One learner in the program was a physician from China who read and spoke English fluently but had never really learned to write it. Another was a young woman from Somalia who had learned to read and write English a little bit when she came to the States in her teens, but who had never attended school in own country and did not even know how to write her own language. One, a native Californian now in his golden years, discovered in the Read Santa Clara program that he was dyslexic, a condition that had never been diagnosed when he was in public school. Another younger native California, diagnosed with a speech problem in elementary school, missed a lot of class time for speech therapy as a child which took a toll on her writing skills; as an adult she realized it was taking her three times as long as her peers to write an e-mail at work. 
Whatever the reasons for the gaps in their current abilities to read and write English, these and so many other adults have been courageous enough to sign up as learners with Read Santa Clara. These are committed adults – no one is making them go to school. They sign up for tutoring because they personally want to improve their literacy skills. As their skills improve, they also become more productive in their lives and more confident overall. Working with these adults, witnessing their literacy growth and the justifiable pride they take in their accomplishments, is immensely rewarding. Literacy tutoring – try it; you’ll find it rewarding, too.” — Pam Leitterman, volunteer tutor
If you’d like to be a Santa Clara adult literacy tutor, get more information from here at the Santa Clara City Library website.