Crisis, Celebrations, and Swag!
When I joined LSW in early 2014, I thought I was attuned to my community through my ten years working in a community-based organization. I thought I knew Milwaukee’s strengths and weaknesses. As an avid reader, I thought I was informed. Boy, was I wrong.

As I have gotten to know the men and women who enroll here to learn, grow, and move their lives forward, I have learned about Milwaukee’s literacy crisis. I know crisis is a dramatic word; I chose it carefully to describe what I've learned is happening beyond the headlines, sound bites, tweets, and Facebook posts. A stunning number of adults in Milwaukee can’t read above a 4th-grade level, but most of us don’t know about this.
Support Adult Education Video
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I hope you will take 57 seconds to watch this video that helps put this crisis in focus. Then I hope you will click the “I can help” button and make the largest contribution you can to help us continue to fill in the educational gaps for those most in need and those most ready to succeed. It doesn’t take thousands of dollars to change a life and the future of a family. It takes just $400 a semester to provide an adult with the education, training, and support they need to become employable, promotable, and college eligible. 

When I think about giving back and I look for opportunities to help my community solve our biggest problems, I look for local organizations I trust to do the work that can make the change I seek to see in the world. I made my annual contribution to Literacy Services this week and I was able to increase the amount. I hope you will join me. 

With our appreciation and best wishes,
Ginger Duiven
Executive Director
MATC City Wide GED/HSED Graduation
Literacy Services of Wisconsin will be participating in the MATC GED/HSED Graduation on Tuesday, December 19, 2017 at Cooley Auditorium from 6:00 p.m. until 7:30 p.m.

LSW will have 6 GED graduates and 79 HSED graduates represented at this event. That is a total of 85 graduates! There will be 6 students receiving their Healthcare Customer Services Certificates from MATC who completed their HSED in the summer of 2017.

LSW will also have the first graduates from the Construction HSED program in partnership with WRTP/BIG STEP participating in the ceremony. The student speaker is a LSW graduate from North Division Adult Learning Lab. This event is free and open to the public.
Wear Your Heart On Your Sleeve
Would you like to show off your passion for Literacy Services? Help us choose branded goods by taking an anonymous survey. Your valuable input will guide us in selecting items that appeal to the majority of our supporters. The first step in showing your pride is sharing your voice. Click the button on the right to begin the short survey.
Volunteer Opportunity
It's a Wrap!

We are in need of a few volunteers to wrap up some holiday cheer! We are partnering with Boswell Book Company this holiday season to giftwrap books for shoppers at Boswell. In return, Literacy Services will have an opportunity to spread awareness of our mission and also raise some funds. Will you join in on this fun and festive opportunity?

We are looking for at least two volunteers per shift. Shifts include:

Monday, December 18, 2017
10AM-12:30PM
Monday, December 18, 2017
12:30PM-3PM
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
10AM-12:30PM
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
12:30PM-3PM

Email your interest to Chad Knezel using the button below.
Mark Your Calendar
December
7th - Volunteer Orientation
9:30-10:30am
13th - Winter Honors Celebration
Downtown - Noon-1:30pm
(Stay tuned for 2018 Student Honors Celebrations at our other locations)
19th - Winter GED/HSED Graduation
6:00pm - Free to attend
Milwaukee Area Technical College 
Cooley Auditorium

Winter Break
Dec. 22nd - Jan. 1st - Agency Closed
Dec. 22nd - Jan. 5th - No Classes
Classes resume on Monday, Jan. 8th

January
4th - Volunteer Orientation
9:30-10:30am
15th - Agency Closed
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
17th - Volunteer Orientation
5:30-6:30pm
30th - Volunteer Orientation
Noon-1:00pm
“I just thank God for the teachers. They come here and don’t get no pay. In winter, fall, summer, spring and they come through in here for us. And I said, if they do that for me… I got to get up! It’s a beautiful experience to have people around you like that. God bless y’all!”
- Robert Washington speaking at the 2017 Autumn Honors Celebration after receiving his certificate for completing the Wilson Reading System.
Gifts That Give Back
Support adult education while you do your holiday shopping this season! Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Literacy Services whenever you shop on AmazonSmile.
How do you know if Literacy Services is closed for inclement weather?
Occasionally Literacy Services will cancel classes and close due to adverse or unsafe weather conditions. To be alerted to these closings follow local media announcements for weather related closings, call our office, or check our website to verify if we have canceled classes.