The Literacy Council of Midland County was started in 1986 by a group of Midland residents concerned about illiteracy in our community. Within a year, the agency had worked with 50 adult learners.
Jay Grosberg suggested the idea of a chocolate lovers’ fundraising event and on Oct. 5, 1988 the first World’s Greatest Dessert Party was held at the Holiday Inn. Soon, LCMC expanded into the areas of workforce literacy and family literacy. Lyn Knapp, Denise Spencer, Chappy Marvin and Howard Swift all served multiple terms as chairperson of the board during the first decade of the agency.
In 1992, the council joined the United Way and a year later moved from an office on James Savage Road to our former location in the Strosacker Center. Other funding sources included the Hearst Foundation, Midland Rotary, Dow Chemical, and a community block grant.
Following the death of founding volunteer Jay Grosberg in 1995, an endowment fund was established in his memory. Lisa Pauls was hired as executive director. A book distribution program was started, thanks to a grant from the Midland Foundation. Miss America 1997, Tara Dawn Holland, attended the World’s Greatest Dessert Party. Stacey Gannon and Catherine Maxey both served as chairperson in the late 1990s with Michael Wolsh assuming the board chair in 2000.
Christine Van Heel was named executive director in 2001. The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation made a $300,000 grant to the Jay Grosberg Memorial Literacy Endowment Fund. Current staff members Allen Richard and Becky Manning came on board in 2002. The agency began to investigate a tutoring program for people with dyslexia. The Workforce Literacy program grew rapidly. Between 2002 and 2006, the number of learners we tutor each week quintupled. Our dyslexia program expanded to include services for youth, and we began partnering with area schools to reach as many young struggling readers as possible.
In 2007, we set an agency record; we tutored 661 individuals. Also, we attained accreditation with ProLiteracy America. We offered programs in Adult Basic Education, English as a Second Language, Dyslexia Initiative, Workforce Literacy, Instructional Outreach and our book distribution program called Gift of Reading.
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