The Ozark Literacy Council will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its founding with the Golden Gala tonight at the Fayetteville Town Center.
The fundraiser will include live music by Bill Dollar and Loose Change, beer and wine, dinner from Mermaids Seafood Restaurant and a silent auction with a number of autographed best-selling books.
Golden Gala: 50 Years of Ozark Literacy Council
What: Anniversary celebration, dinner, live music, silent auction
When: 6-9 p.m. today
Where: Fayetteville Town Center
Tickets: $50 in advance or $60 at the door
Attire: Casual
Information: (479) 521-8250 or ozarkliteracy.org
Margot Jackson, executive director, said the special honoree of the evening will be Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordon "for his commitment to literacy."
A group of Fayetteville residents founded the Fayetteville Company of Compassion on March 2, 1964, to teach adults to read and write and fund a mobile library for adults. That group became the Ozark Literacy Council.
Jamil Shami led the group's first tutor training and will be on hand to celebrate the milestone.
The nonprofit organization currently has 370 students with 60 volunteer tutors either helping international students master the English language or working with native-born speakers with their literacy skills. Jackson said that applying students are quickly matched with tutors, but there is always a need for more tutors. The organization offers tutor training monthly.
Tutoring is available in small groups, with two to four students of the same level, or one on one. Classes are offered for beginning, intermediate and advanced English learners.
Literacy offerings are not limited to just reading fundamentals but also include classes for health, civic, financial and workforce literacy.
-- CARIN SCHOPPMEYER [email protected]
NAN Our Town on 03/13/2014