Local Family And Sonora Area Foundation Bring Back Adult Literacy Program

Sonora, CA– The Tuolumne County Adult Literacy Program, based out of the Sonora library branch, is once again open after a two-year COVID-related closure. The program returns with a healthy amount of funding thanks to the Garside family and son Keitaro Matsuda who have insured the program can operate for the foreseeable future.

The purpose of the “Garside Family Adult Literacy Fund” is to help with the fund outreach, program materials, community awareness, and recruiting tutors and students for the library adult literacy programs that exist throughout Tuolumne County. The Garside family works closely with Lynn McCormick, recently retired from the Tuolumne County Public Library, and Darrel Slocum, CEO of the Sonora Area Foundation, to develop the fund that will serve the literacy program. Patricia Garside, a founding tutor, explains more about the program.

“We prefer to call this program Adult Life Literacy. Learning to read, even as an adult, provides the tools for us to continue education into critical skills for everyday life, We teach our students how to navigate social services, gain employment, find stable housing, acquire social knowledge for our many immigrants, learn computer skills and so forth. I’m very proud and gratified to now be meeting the grandchildren of some of my first students and knowing that the adult literacy program was a part of how they came to be.”

Part of the program includes the hiring of Haley Talent who has been added to the library staff as the Literacy Coordinator. If you wish to know more about the program or to become involved in it, contact Haley Tallent at htallent@co.tuolumne.ca.us or by calling 209-694-2727.