Portland Literacy Council opens a new chapter for adults without a high school diploma: Season of Sharing 2024

If Mark Herman could be doing whatever he wanted five years from now, he'd be working in a school, teaching music to kids.

"It's the only job I feel like I've had where it doesn't feel like it's work," said Herman, who gives ukulele and guitar lessons in between painting houses and taking writing classes at Portland Community College.

Music appeals to Herman because "it's so free and expressive," he said. "Music for me, as a kid, really helped me through a lot of things. And I feel like if I can strike that nerve in someone else and help them realize their potential, I feel like that means everything."

Herman knows all about getting help to realize one's potential. The 43-year-old Northeast Portland resident recently benefited from Portland Literacy Council 's GED voucher program, which supports adults working toward a General Educational Development certification in place of a high school diploma. The voucher program covers the fees required to take GED tests.

Portland Literacy Council, a beneficiary of the 2024 Season of Sharing holiday fundraising campaign, promotes adult literacy through several programs:

The GED voucher program, which paid for 81 practice and official GED tests for 22 adult learners in 2023.

A foundational literacy program, which teaches adults to read.

A tutor training program, which trains more than 200 volunteer adult literacy tutors each year.

The council holds an annual volunteer literacy tutor conference – the next one is March 22 – as well as occasional tutor workshops. Lorie Wigle, the council's executive director, said she's really excited about adding a workshop on trauma-informed practices, in recognition that experiencing trauma affects how people learn, relate to others or receive services. Some tutors may find themselves working with people who fled their homelands due to war or persecution, for instance, or with people who have difficult memories of their schooling.

> Donate to Portland Literacy Council or the Season of Sharing general fund. You can also Text the code SHARE2024 to 44-321.

Portland Literacy Council hopes to use its Season of Sharing funds to broaden its tutor pool, update its website with more resources for the 1,500 tutors already in its database, and expand its GED voucher program beyond the Portland area.

The council does its work on a budget of $56,000, about half of which comes from grants and the rest from donations and training fees. Volunteers have been the lifeblood of the council – though it's been around since 1993, it didn't hire its first employee, Wigle, until 2023. Wigle and two other employees all work part time.

Wigle said the council worked closely with partners such as Multnomah County Library and community colleges. Take the GED voucher program. "There are GED navigators at many of the community colleges and if they realize that somebody maybe needs a little bit more help, they'll send them to us," she said.

Help can mean as much as $250 per adult learner for practice GED tests, official GED tests and test retakes, Wigle said.

Help can also mean moral support as someone works their way through the tests in language arts, math, social studies and science that are required for a GED certificate. "I think just having somebody who's paying attention to their progress and watching the scores and so on is helpful," Wigle said.

That was the case for Herman, who kept in touch with Peggy Murphy, one of the council's nine volunteer board members, during his GED journey.

"Every time I took a test and I passed the test, I'd be like, 'Hey Peggy, I passed it,'" Herman said. Murphy would respond, "I'm so happy for you. It's so great. You can keep going." Her encouragement made the process easier and more exciting and kept him motivated, he said.

Between the financial and moral support, Herman said, Portland Literacy Council did a lot to reduce his anxiety about the expense and time commitment of getting his GED.

"It felt great," he said of the day he got his certificate. "I also wanted to seize the momentum that I feel like I was exhibiting. So I was like, I'm gonna keep going to school and just see what happens.

"I'm trying to, like, really, really stay on course."

What your donation can do$50: Helps pay for three volunteers to attend a tutoring workshop.

$250: Pays for one adult learner to get a GED certificate.

$500: Sponsors three tutors for foundational literacy training.