BATH — The Tri-County Literacy Board of Directors and staff have announced the non-profit will now be known as Midcoast Literacy.

“We substantially increased our services and outreach efforts over the past decade,” said Executive Director Donald Lader, Jr., “and in the process, became aware of some confusion around our ‘tri-county’ designation. We want people to know we serve Sagadahoc, Lincoln, and northern Cumberland Counties and believe changing our name to Midcoast Literacy clarifies our regional service area.” Lader added that nothing else about the organization is changing. “Our mission continues to be ‘improving lives through literacy’ and we continue to offer the same free services to adults and families seeking to better their literacy skills.”
David Damour of Brunswick, chairman of Midcoast Literacy’s Board of Directors, said, “Our board is committed to finding ways to serve as many people as we can in our three Midcoast counties. We hope our name change will help us do just that by making us easier to find.”
Midcoast Literacy, headquartered in the Midcoast Maine Community Action Center, in Bath, has been addressing the literacy needs of residents from Freeport to Waldoboro for more than four decades.

The Adult Literacy Services include one-on-one free tutoring for adult learners who struggle to read, seek to improve their English skills or need support re-entering educational programs or the workforce, as well as a program specifically for the elderly that enables the participants to create written memoirs with the help and companionship of volunteers.

The Family Literacy Services include Read With Me, a program that provides literacy support and free books to low-income families and preschool children through a collaboration with local Head Start centers; Summer Books, a program that provides free books and encouragement to read through a collaboration with local Summer Food Services Programs; and Read Together, a new and engaging program that offers year-round, one-on-one tutoring for school-age children who are struggling to read at grade level.
Program Director Katie Clark hopes the name change announcement will alert people to the availability of all Midcoast Literacy’s services, including a hybrid initiative that aims to combine help for adults and children called Parent Support. “One of the best ways to ensure children succeed in school is to help their parents navigate the school-related paperwork, newsletters, and other forms of communication used by teachers and school staff,” said Clark. “We have volunteers who will meet one-on-one with parents to help them keep up with the papers and forms sent home weekly from school.”

People can sign up for Parent Support or to receive tutoring help for a child or adult at any time of the year.
“If you or someone you know would benefit from our help, we invite you to contact us for more information about our programs,” said Lader. “We are always happy to speak with interested individuals, families, and agency staff who would like to know more about what we do. We are also always looking for enthusiastic adults to become Midcoast Literacy volunteer tutors and help us reach residents in the 37 municipalities of Sagadahoc, Lincoln, and northern Cumberland Counties.”
For more information or to volunteer, call 207-443-6384 or email Executive Director Donald Lader, d.lader@midcoastlitercy.org; or Program Director Katie Clark, k.clark@midcoastliteracy.org

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