Word lovers are getting their game on for the start of the Scrabble®Fest tournament season. On Tuesday, January 10, from 6-8pm, Literacy Volunteers of Buffalo and Erie County launches its annual Scrabble®Fest season at the Monkey See Monkey Do bookstore at 9060 Main Street in Clarence, NY.  Scrabble®Fest raises funds to support Literacy Volunteers’ efforts to combat illiteracy in our community.

Dozens of Scrabble players will enjoy friendly competition in the first of many Scrabble®Fest parties in the Western New York community. Literacy Volunteers staff and volunteers will sit alongside members of the community who love the game of Scrabble.

Anyone is welcome to attend. Admission to the event is free, but a $10 donation per player is encouraged. Upcoming parties in peoples’ homes will request donations from players to support Literacy Volunteers.

The Scrabble®Fest tournament season continues through March 4 with many fundraising parties at peoples’ homes and in local restaurants. A winner from each party will compete at the Scrabble®Fest finals at the Buffalo Central Library on March 4 to determine one community Scrabble champion!

Cocktails in Character, Literacy Volunteers novel fundraising event, was held Tuesday, November 1 at Shea’s Performing Arts Center.  Thank you to all the sponsors, donors, vendors and guests who made the evening a great success.  Please watch for the announcement of the date of the next Cocktails in Character in 2012.

LITERACY VOLUNTEERS OF BUFFALO & ERIE COUNTY RECEIVES NATIONAL ACCREDITATION
Buffalo, NY— On January 26, 2009, Literacy Volunteers of Buffalo & Erie County was awarded accredited status by ProLiteracy America, the US Programs Division of ProLiteracy Worldwide. Literacy Volunteers of Buffalo & Erie County has served Erie County for nearly 44 years helping adults improve their reading, mathematics, listening, writing, speaking, and technology skills.

Peter Waite, Executive Director of ProLiteracy America, says, “We are proud to add Literacy Volunteers of Buffalo & Erie County to our growing list of accredited organizations. They have demonstrated that their program meets the highest national standards for volunteer literacy programs and that their services to the community are effective. We applaud the many volunteers, staff, and students who have devoted their time and effort to achieve this goal.”

ProLiteracy America’s Accreditation provides literacy programs with a comprehensive process for: 1) conducting an organizational self-assessment; 2) developing program improvement plans; and 3) demonstrating that their organization meets the highest standards for governance, program management, program operations, and volunteer development.

Literacy Volunteers of Buffalo & Erie County is a nonprofit educational program dedicated to helping adults and families of all ages improve their lives and their communities by learning reading, writing, math and problem-solving skills. Literacy Volunteers is the region’s sole provider of free, one-on-one adult and family literacy services and offers several programs: Basic Reading, English For Speakers of Other Languages, the Drop In Literacy & Language Program, the Broadway Fillmore Community Technology Collaborative youth after school project, SES (Supplemental Afterschool Services) Tutoring, and Peer Tutoring. We have recently expanded our service delivery to include several neighborhood based Literacy & Language Drop In Centers in the City of Buffalo’s most impoverished neighborhoods.

ProLiteracy Worldwide is a nonprofit educational organization that supports local literacy programs through a national network of approximately 130,000 volunteers and 1,200 local, state, and regional literacy providers in the United States. ProLiteracy’s purpose is to sponsor educational programs and services whose purpose is to empower adults and their families by assisting them to acquire the literacy practices and skills they need to function more effectively in their daily lives and participate in the transformation of their societies. ProLiteracy Worldwide was formed by the recent merger of Laubach Literacy International and Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc.

For more information, contact  the main office at 876-8991.