Portland Literacy Council (PLC) is a nonprofit organization that supports adult literacy programs, tutors, and students in the Portland metropolitan area.

PLC activities include delivering online and in-person tutor training workshops, supporting Pacific Northwest literacy programs, providing GED test vouchers to low-income students, sponsoring an annual volunteer tutor conference, and publishing an online newsletter and announcements of interest to the adult literacy community.

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New and Noteworthy

Willamette Week’s 2025 Give!Guide

We are so excited to have been a part of the 2025 Give!Guide. Thank you to all who donated and supported PLC during the campaign. While we didn’t hit our fundraising goal of $12,000, we are excited to have increased awareness of PLC’s mission and expanded our impact across the community.

 

Action is the Antidote

PLC’s 2025 Community Impact Report is now available.  This report describes the inspiring work of PLC and the many volunteers supporting adult learners over the last year.

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

Join us at the 2026  Volunteer Tutor Conference – Equity Through Literacy – on Saturday, April 11, 2026.

This year we are going back to the PCC Rock Creek Campus.

We look forward to seeing you there!

 

Stay Connected!

Subscribe to the LiteracyLinks Newsletter

Subscribe to Tutor Announcements and Workshops

Tutors Needed

Welcome Neighbor! Course

Though Welcome Neighbor! is oriented towards independent volunteer tutors, anyone involved with teaching English will find something valuable in these practical, hands-on learning experiences. Hosted by People-Places-Things.

Welcome Neighbor! I: First Steps  (Saturday January 24th at 3pm-4pm, online)
Course is free but registration required. Click to register.
 
Welcome Neighbor! IV: Basic Tech for Online Tutoring (Whatsapp, Zoom, Meet) (Saturday January 24th at 4pm-5pm, online)
This course is intended for people who have already shadowed a session and been matched to a learner, but some may want to join even if they haven’t been matched to a learner yet.
Course is free but registration required. Click to register.
 

Literacy Facts

  • The literacy levels of parents are crucial in predicting their children’s literacy levels and educational attainment. (National Institute for Literacy)
  • More than 20% of adults read at or below a fifth-grade level,which prevents them from working at jobs with a living wage, hinders their ability to vote, and impedes their ability to read a newspaper. (National Institute for Literacy)
  • Adults who have not received high school diplomas are unemployed at nearly three times the rate of their peers with high school diplomas. (State of Oregon Employment Dept.)
  • The single greatest indicator of children’s success is the literacy level of their parents.
    • 43% of adults with low literacy skills live in poverty
    • 36 million adults in the U.S. have low literacy skills.

    Break the cycle of poverty:
    Reach a child in need — Teach an adult to read.

On our For Tutors page, check out the Resources for Tutoring Online drop-down for a wealth of tools and ideas for Online Tutoring.  Here’s a sampling: