Our Vision
Literacy Volunteers of Southern Connecticut (LVSCT) envisions a community of harmony and abundance where all people and their children attain their educational and life goals, and become functioning and contributing members of the Greater Milford Area and society.
Our Mission
LVSCT’s mission is to provide services at no cost to any individual who wishes to learn the English language or enhance the reading, writing, speaking and listening comprehension skills necessary to lead productive lives in our community.
Our OperationS
LVSCT’s office is located in the Fannie Beach Community Center at 16 Dixon Street in Milford. Its organization consists of a Board of Directors and an Executive Director who guide its operation. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, LVSCT obtains funding from grants, civic donations, corporate and financial institution donations, fundraising events, and individual contributions.
LVSCT is a hub of learning with over 100 adult English language learners annually and about 6,000 hours logged by volunteer tutors who help them learn the English they need to not only survive, but also thrive, here.
Our Program
LVSCT’s tutoring program is FREE and is designed to help adult English language learners (ELL) learn (or improve proficiency in) English. Our program is unique in that it focuses on providing customized one-on-one tutoring (rather than classes with one instructor and multiple students), enabling students to meet with their tutors when, where, and how they choose, and for the tutors to individually tailor lessons to their students’ specific goals and needs.
Our Affiliations
We are a proud affiliate of the national ProLiteracy network of adult basic education and literacy programs, and a United Way of Milford member agency. This partnering is an acknowledgement that LVSCT shares the United Way’s approach to improving lives, which is through mobilizing the caring power of communities. We also work with the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and Fairfield County’s Community Foundation.
Our History
Like most organizational beginnings, we started out small – as a committee-run satellite office of Literacy Volunteers of New Haven with funding from the Junior Women’s Club of Milford. The charity later became the sole task of Frances O’Neill, its first Executive Director. She ran the program out of her home until 1992 when the City of Milford provided office space at the Margaret Egan Center. In 1994, Ms. O’Neill turned over the reins to Joy Stonier and Karen O’Neill, who were instrumental in forming the non-profit, community-based literacy agency known as the Literacy Center of Milford. Through corporate sponsorships, donations, and specialized staffing, the organization sprouted. In 1995, the Center was relocated to the Fannie Beach Community Center, its current headquarters. In 2016 the Center changed its name to Literacy Volunteers of Southern Connecticut.