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Photograph by George Sakkestad

Tutor Sandy Reed (right) and her learner, Alex Limon, take an unconventional approach to their literacy tutoring session. By reading through recipes for baking and decorating cakes, Reed said, Limon's reading ability is improving.

To read was her dream, and Reed made it come true

By Shannon Burkey

Sandy Reed has always loved reading, so when she decided to find a way to give back to the community, sharing her passion with others seemed like the natural thing to do.

"When I retired, I began looking for ways to fill my time in a way that could make a difference," Reed said. "I looked at various options and thought that this is a great way to help someone and share the joy of reading."

To help her on her way to helping others, Reed, a Saratoga resident, became a tutor for Vision Literacy, a program sponsored by the Santa Clara County Library system and the only accredited literacy program in Silicon Valley.

In Santa Clara County alone, more than 400,000 people can't read things such as job applications, bills or driver's license tests that everyone else takes for granted.

Since it began in 1985, Vision Literacy has trained more than 4,600 volunteers such as Reed who want to empower adults through reading. Each year, the organization provides 10,000 hours of instruction to about 1,000 learners.

"Initially, I was surprised by the number of adults who can't read," Reed said. "But when I started learning about adult learning, I came to understand there are so many reasons people don't know how to read."

Those reasons can range from having to drop out of school to take care of family to having an undiscovered learning disability, Reed said.

Whatever the reason, the goal of the organization and each of its volunteers is to tutor adults in reading, writing, basic math skills and even general life skills.

"The tutoring can be very specific and practical, like helping someone figure out what a bill says or teaching them how to count out change," said Kristin Seitz, Vision Literacy communications and events coordinator. "It absolutely runs the gamut and is very unique and tailored to each student."

Seitz said together each tutor and learner figure out what the learner's goals are. Sometimes a goal can be as simple as getting a driver's license or voting, but it could also be to get a job or develop technology skills.

"The goals sometimes may not be traditional, but they are real world," Seitz said.

In the case of Reed and her learner of 3 1/2 years, Alex Limon, the goal was to become a cake decorator. For someone who can't read the recipes of the cakes and icings she wants to make, it can be a daunting challenge.

Limon, who can read and write fluently in Spanish, and Reed have taken several cake decorating classes together so Reed could be on hand to help if Limon needed it. Now Limon has begun to make and sell cakes on her own.

"We determined what she wanted to learn, and I helped get her there," Reed said. "She has become quite the cake decorator, and her literacy skills have improved."

It's not just the goals that are unique; sometimes the learners and their reasons for wanting to be in the program are unique.

Campbell resident Erica Ankuda has been a tutor for two years. She began with one learner, but said she was having so much fun she asked for a second one.

Her second learner, a Saratoga resident in his 80s, was the victim of a stroke and needs help to regain some of the abilities he lost because of it.

Like Reed, Ankuda uses different methods in her teaching.

"We use Scrabble tiles, draw maps and do online searches in our learning," she said. "The gratitude you get and the joy they get out of the littlest things is so rewarding."

Reed couldn't agree more.

"It's been so much fun watching the transformation in Alex," Reed said. "This truly is a program where one person really can make a difference."