1994
Still under the name, Literacy Volunteers of America – Rochester (LVAR), our organization continued to serve the community and meet literacy needs of local adults well into the 1990s. 1994 was the 30th anniversary of LVAR and was celebrated at the Annual Meeting. In addition to celebrating 30 years, LVAR also welcomed Eliza Coyle as the second executive director.
1995
According to the annual report, six out of sixteen instructional workshops were hosted at off-site locations around the community “by request.” These communities included Fairport, Brockport, and Greece. LVAR had a growing reputation in the community and people were recognizing the need for literacy.
By 1995, LVAR was the fifth largest chapter in New York when student count was tallied. The top four in order were, Suffolk County, Nassau County, Buffalo, and Westchester County.
1996
The Literacy Leadership Fund, an endowment fund, was established to support future growth. The initial investment was $45,000. This fund was later renamed to the Rose-Marie Klipstein Literacy Leadership Fund in 2019 during the 55th anniversary.
During the 1990s, each year LVAR would host “Septemberfest” to honor students for their literacy achievements. The celebration was a potluck get-together.
1997
On October 25th at an LVAR homecoming event, the Literacy Leadership fund was officially launched. Fundraising for this fund started in August of 1996 and donations came in throughout the year. As quoted in the Fall 1997 LitBits, “an endowment combines the strength of many… planning for the future begins now.” Over 50 individuals were named to have supported the initial investment of the endowment.
1998
1999
1999 marked the end of the millenium and the world was ready to move into the 2000s, even with the Y2K scare (year 2000 problem). Technology from the 2000’s onward continued to flourish and brought about new advancements to improve daily life and routines. Digital devices were still in the early stages, but volunteers had the foresight to recognize that digital devices would be integral to literacy.
2000
Computers and technology were slowly being implemented to everyday functions of the organization. By 2000, progress to add online copies of annual reports and LitBit releases were beginning. Who knew that 24 years later that these publications would be exclusively online.
2001
In 2001, the LVAR board wanted to create a new and unique fundraising event to bring attention to the organization. Thus, Brain Game was planned. The trivia tournament was held October 4 at the Bausch & Lomb Public Library. There were eight teams of lawyers and attorneys competing for the title of Brain Game champion. For a more in depth look at the history of Brain Game, check out this previous post HERE.
2002
After eight years with the organization, Eliza Coyle stepped down as Executive Director and a new director was named in July. Data from the year reported that volunteers donated a total of 24,000 hours to the organization from tutoring, administrative roles, and board members.
2003
2003 was a big year for LVAR as the organization received accredited affiliate status from ProLiteracy. LVAR was also gearing up towards the 40th anniversary in 2004 and preparing events for the big year of celebration.
Want to hear more stories? Over the years, thousands of subscribers received updates about the organization through Litbits. We welcome new LitBits subscribers! Sign up now – Click Here or refer to the “Contact Information” section on this page.