[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 205 (Wednesday, December 18, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1609]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IN HONOR OF LITERACY VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA, PRINCE WILLIAM, INC. THE 
                     REWARDS AND RECOGNITION NIGHT

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                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 18, 2019

  Mr. CONNOLLY. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize and congratulate the 
Literacy Volunteers of America, Prince William, Inc. and the 2019 award 
recipients. These honorees have dedicated themselves to promoting 
educational opportunities and to continuing their own education.
   LVA-PW was formed in 1991 by a local librarian, joined by other 
librarians and teachers to provide adult literacy services. Its mission 
is to teach adults the skills of reading, writing, and speaking English 
in order to help individuals increase their chances of success and 
expand their professional and personal opportunities. With the help of 
more than 220 professionally-trained volunteer tutors, this program 
helps over 700 adults each year. It is the largest adult literacy non-
profit in the county and is tuition free. At the Rewards and 
Recognition Night LVA-PW honors the Tutor of the Year, Student of the 
Year, and Volunteer of the Year. It is my honor to include in the 
Record the names of the 2019 award recipients:
   Tutor of the Year--Richard Cantu: Richard has been an LVA-PW 
volunteer tutor for over five years. He also been a 1-1 tutor and 
tutored an Adult Basic Education class to help low-level students 
improve their reading and writing skills so that they can successfully 
enter the GED program. Richard has been instrumental in helping over 
250 students during his time in our program. His hard work and 
dedication have positively impacted the lives of over 800 family 
members. Since becoming a volunteer, he has contributed over 550 
tutoring hours and over 220 hours on other activities including lesson-
planning. His students have told our staff how much they look forward 
to Mr. Rick's class--he always has a smile and positive outlook and is 
encouraging to every student he tutors.
   Student of the Year--Mashood Ahmed: Mashood is originally from 
Pakistan and moved here less than two years ago to be with his family. 
Mashood has been a student in the program for just over one year. He 
joined this program to better his life and further his education. His 
goal is to improve his reading and writing to earn his GED credential 
and eventually attend Northern Virginia Community College. Mashood 
works part-time at a local school cafeteria and Wendy's in Dale City, 
where he practices his English on the job. Since enrolling in our 
program, he has had over 150 hours of instruction, is passionate about 
improving his literacy skills and is committed to excellence at all 
levels. His tutors are proud of his work and Mashood sets an example 
for his classmates.
   Volunteer of the Year--The Waite Family: Joe, Tiffany, Dora, and 
Maggie are examples of exemplary citizenship and nurturing spirit in 
the community. For over 10 years they have supported Literacy 
Volunteers of America-Prince William, Inc. They are also active in 
Azalea Charities and numerous other national and community endeavors. 
Their consistent involvement has helped elevate the LVA-PW program this 
last decade.
   Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me once again in 
congratulating Richard Cantu, Mashood Ahmed, and the Waite Family, on 
being honored by the Literacy Volunteers of America-Prince William, 
Inc. and I wish them continued success.

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