[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 13470]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     HONORING THE 2015 LITERACY COUNCIL OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA AWARD 
                               RECIPIENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 31, 2015

  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the 
recipients of the 2015 Literary Council of Northern Virginia Community 
Partner Awards and Volunteer of the Year Awards. Founded in 1962, the 
Literary Council of Northern Virginia (LCNV) is a non-profit 
educational organization that recruits and trains volunteers to teach 
adults who need help reading, writing, speaking, and understanding the 
English language.
  The mission of LCNV is to empower adults by providing a wide range of 
programs that teach the basic literacy skills needed in order to become 
self-sufficient and full participants in society. These programs 
include Basic Adult Literacy Tutoring, which works with adults who 
speak and understand English but are beginning readers and writers, and 
ESOL tutoring programs that teach reading, writing, listening 
comprehension, and speaking to those in our community for whom English 
is not their native language. In addition, LCNV offers two classroom 
programs: The ESOL Learning Center program, which serves low-income 
immigrant adults and teaches life skills important in the work place 
and community, and Family Learning Programs, which teach English 
proficiency to parents while their children participate in separate 
literacy-related activities.
  Over more than 50 years, thousands of people and families have gained 
new knowledge through LCNV programs. This would not have been possible 
without the dedication and commitment of the many volunteers and 
community partners. It is my great honor to recognize the following 
recipients of the 2015 Literacy Council of Northern Virginia Awards:
  Community Partner Awards: Capital One; The Phillip L. Graham Fund; 
Region 8 Adult Education Programs
  Student Essay Readers: Lorena Lemus De Hernandez; Nansy Peta; Blanca 
Soliz
  Volunteers of the Year: Lynn Gallagher; Sandra Thomas; Chris 
Wollenberg
  Mid Allen Ries Award: Xavier Munoz
  This year, LCNV learners were invited to submit writings around the 
theme for this year's Annual Recognition Event: ``My Hopes and 
Dreams.'' Learners worked with tutors, teachers, and classmates to 
formulate ideas, construct drafts, edit, and polish their writing in 
order to create final products that were published in LCNV's annual 
report. I commend each of the learners who submitted a piece and 
congratulate them on the incredible progress that they have made.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in recognizing the 
contributions of the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia and in 
congratulating each of the 2015 Award Recipients. Their dedication, 
hard work, and commitment improves the quality of life for the 
students, as well as the community, by providing program participants 
with the life skills that are necessary to become active and productive 
members of society.