Calling all trivia buffs and lovers of Jeopardy!  Please join us for the 16th Annual Trivia Bee on April 20th.  Tickets will go on sale in mid-March at Village Books, but team registration is open NOW.  Click here for more info on entering your team of 3 people into Whatcom County’s Trivia Championship!

Thanks to a generous grant from the Medina Foundation, we are working on putting together some new videos featuring some of our tutors and one of our English Language Learners.  We are still working on editing all of the footage, but we were so excited about what we have, that we just had to post a short preview featuring Lauren, a fantastic ELL tutor.  Enjoy!

Due to the poor road conditions and severe weather, the monthly tutor information session scheduled for tonight – Wednesday, January 18 – will be moved to next Wednesday, January 25.  The session will start at 5pm, and will be held in the lecture room at the Bellingham Public Library.  Anyone interested in learning more about becoming a tutor is encouraged to attend.

Due to poor weather and road conditions, the WLC office will be only be open for a short time today.  Hopefully we will be back in the office tomorrow. Staff is available via email throughout the day.

Gina Barrieau-Gonzales, Programs Manager, gina@whatcomliteracy.org

Summer Ostlund, ELL Program Coordinator, summer@whatcomliteracy.org

Jessica Hilburn, ALP Program Coordinator, jessica@whatcomliteracy.org

Rachel Myers, Executive Director, rachel@whatcomliteracy.org

We will keep you posted regarding our hours tomorrow.  If it snows heavily, we will likely at least open later than normal.  Be safe everyone!

Today we cleaned out our storage unit. We want to start the year fresh! While we were there, we found a document entitled, “Whatcom Literacy Council – A Brief History”. It details WLC’s path from the early 1980′s through the mid ’90′s. It says that in the first few years there were about 30 learners and 30 volunteer tutors. Now we serve around 500 learners with the help of about 200 tutors each year! Amazing to see how we have grown. Thanks to all of our friends and supporters for making it happen!

We were so thrilled to fill the room at our annual Literacy Breakfast at the Bellingham Golf & Country Club.  It was a great morning with stories shared by a WLC learner and his tutor, along with the wonderful reading suggestions from Nancy Pearl.  The best news of all – the event raised more than $25,000 to support our work!

We are so excited to share our brand new website!  Thanks to a generous grant from the Medina Foundation, we have been able to redesign and update our website to include new features, easier updates and a more clear navigation.  Stay tuned for even more content coming soon including new videos featuring tutors, another learner and WLC staff.  Please enjoy the new site, and we look forward to hearing any feedback!

Mark your calendar for the 9th Annual Literacy Breakfast! Friday, November 18th, at the Bellingham Golf & Country Club 7:15 to 9am
The witty and wonderful NANCY PEARL will join us again this year to share her thoughts on some of the year’s best reads. The morning will also feature a WLC learner and tutor sharing their stories. Guests will be asked to make a donation to support our work. Reserve your spot by calling 647-3264 or email us at rachel@whatcomliteracy.org.

Join us for the “Much Ado About Nothing” benefit performance for Whatcom Literacy Council at the Claire vg Thomas Theatre in Lynden. Half of the proceeds from the evening’s performance will go to support WLC.

Friday, September 30  |  7:30pm
Claire vg Thomas Theatre
655 Front Street
Lynden, WA

For Tickets and Info, call 360-354-4425
or visit www.clairevgtheatre.org