Literacy Network of So. Berkshires Celebrates 30 Years Of Transforming Lives

Story provided by Literacy Network of South Berkshire. All photos by David Edgecomb.

Attendees at Literacy Network of South Berkshire’s 30th Anniversary event on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 11 and 12 enjoyed gloriously sun-filled weather as they mingled beneath a tent surrounded by the lustrous perennial borders at Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge. Nearly 200 people attended the mostly outdoor event held both days to allow for maximum social distancing. Housed inside the Leonhardt Gallery in the Garden’s Center House was the event’s central attraction: a photography and storytelling exhibit, titled, like the event itself, Transforming Lives for 30 Years, featuring 16 black-and-white portraits (all donated by local photographer Julie McCarthy) of current and former LitNet learners and others significant to the organization, such as its founder. Masked guests rotated through the rooms of the gallery observing the large-format photos and soaking in the personally written stories, which told about learners’ experiences overcoming illiteracy, learning a new language, or achieving other education-related goals that changed their lives for the better.

Saturday's celebration featured music by the Berkshire Jazz Quartet, and two large-screen TVs played on loop the pre-recorded speeches by LitNet’s Board President Merle Duskin Kailas and Executive Director Leigh Doherty and from the event’s honorees, Greylock Federal Credit Union’s President and CEO John Bissel and Financial Wellness Latinx Coach Gloria Escobar. Escobar, a longtime LitNet learner herself, shared her story of emigrating to this country, working in a factory, and slowly working her way up to her position at Greylock. She ended her speech with sentiments that echoed many other LitNet learner stories in the exhibit: “Thank you to all the tutors that LitNet provided me for 20 years. These tutors not only taught me how to write, read, and pronounce the English language; they have been my friends, my support, and my guidance during my journey in this country. LitNet has truly changed my life. I have a voice now.” In lieu of a paddle raise, attendees were invited to visit the donation table featuring drop boxes. The event was successful in raising over $88,000 to support its endeavors in providing free, one-on-one tutoring and advocacy for adults in Berkshire County.