First Unitarian Universalist Church of Detroit

Literacy Outreach

Inspired by Reverend Drew, who was in turn inspired by literacy volunteer and First UU member Sharon Mills, many First UU of Detroit members have begun volunteering at the Siena Literacy Center in northwest Detroit.

Here's a a report from Sharon Mills, as of September 14, 2008:

Since April 2008, 29 members of our congregation have volunteered to be tutors! 21 of these volunteers completed a trainining workshop in June, and 5 more are registered for the November tutor training workship. To date, 17 of these volunteers have been paired with students and are tutoring. 5 more volunteers are slated to be assigned students within the next two weeks.

The number of these volunteers speaks to the Unitarian Universalist tradition of being fiercely proactive and of our willingness to step in the breach to effect change.

You can listen to Drew's and Sharon's inspiring words here on our website, at the sermon audio page. Look for the April 13, 2008 sermon entitled Being Useful.

Helping others to help themselves is a productive way to make our community a better place, and literacy is one of the most powerful tools, and one which is lacking for many residents of Detroit and surrounding communities.

For more information, please contact the Siena Literacy Center.

"Literacy is the road to human progress and the means through which every man, woman and child can realize his or her full potential." [Kofi Annan]