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By Mike Goodkind, with Project Read volunteers and staff
Jason Sugimura, the recently appointed Project Read-Menlo Park (PRMP) provisional program manager, often looks across the literacy group’s office and computer lab in the Main Library and thinks he sees the face of Menlo Park.
“On any day, I might see a recent arrival to the United States walking in at the same time as a retired professor from Stanford seeking to broaden their experiences by volunteering. We’re really a microcosm of our community — from students to seniors,” said Sugimura, a Bay Area native and career high-tech data analyst.
Five years ago, Sugimura volunteered in PRMP’s computer lab before becoming an English conversation club facilitator and one-to-one English language literacy tutor. He joined the PRMP staff in 2015 as its Salesforce.com administrator, gained certification as a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) instructor in 2016, and in 2018 became the provisional program manager.
Project Read-Menlo Park was founded in 1985, and since 2012 alone has supported nearly 750 learners from 56 different countries.
“We need to be ready to take all comers, ranging from people who arrive with low literacy skills in their own language to grad students and spouses hoping to make the language and cultural transition to the U.S.,” Sugimura explained. “Project Read is a helping hand as learners move through a spectrum of life, vocational, and educational skills.”
“While some of our learners have achieved degrees and professional certifications, others just want to be able to communicate with their kids’ teachers,” Sugimura said.
“Numerous organizations can be involved, but it is often Project Read, providing beginning English teachers at Belle Haven Library, and the core of 39 one-to-one volunteer tutors, who help keep everything glued together so that our participants can move forward in their lives,” Sugimura said. “We’re always looking for new volunteer tutors,” he said.
The city of Menlo Park recently doubled Project Read’s annual funding from $55,000 to $110,000. Additional funding, varied by year, comes from California State Library Awards and the nonprofit Friends of the Menlo Park Library. PRMP’s annual expenses to maintain a full range of services, including staff to coordinate the largely volunteer effort, is about $250,000.
“We are grateful for the city of Menlo Park’s increasing confidence in our services, but we continue to count on our community for participation and financial support,” explained Linda Carlson, president of Literacy Partners, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit that raises money exclusively for Project Read.
“In 2018, thanks to supporters, PRMP was able to fill a half-time community outreach position to, among other things, make sure everyone who needs help can find an appropriate resource, including an available volunteer tutor,” Carlson said.
To find more information or to volunteer, go to projectreadmenlopark.org. To donate to The Almanac’s 2018 Holiday Fund, click here, or find the donation coupon in The Almanac’s print edition to donate offline.
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