Literacy Volunteers pleading with Albany to restore funding
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Literacy volunteers are pleading with Albany to restore money to fund their efforts statewide. Between deficit reduction cuts and lower budget appropriations, those groups face a loss of nearly 40 percent of their annual funding.
About 22 percent of all New York State residents, over the age of 16, are functioning with below basic skills. That's greater than one in five. This is a huge social, personal and economic concern.
"This is bread and butter funding for us. This helps to pay for our tutor training. For the recruitment of our volunteers. For our office administration kinds of work. We're very dependent on this funding, in order to help adults in our community to become more literate. To improve their lives through literacy," said Marsha Tait of Literacy Volunteers of Greater Syracuse.
Last year's volunteer effort received just under $7 million from the state.