If Mark Herman could do whatever he wanted in five years, he would work in a school and teach music to children.

“It’s the only job I feel like I’ve had where I don’t feel like it’s work,” said Herman, who teaches ukulele and guitar lessons between painting houses and taking writing classes at Portland Community College.

The music appeals to Herman because “it’s so free and expressive,” he says. “When I was a kid, music really helped me with a lot of things. And I feel like if I can touch that nerve in someone else and help them realize their potential, I feel like that means everything.

Herman knows all about getting help to realize your potential. The 43-year-old Northeast Portland resident recently received a Portland Literacy Council‘s GED voucher program, which supports working adults toward earning a General Educational Development certification in place of a high school diploma. The voucher program covers the fees required to take the GED tests.

The Portland Literacy Council, a beneficiary of the 2024 Season of Sharing holiday fundraising campaign, promotes adult literacy through several programs:

• The GED Voucher Program, which funded 81 practice and official GED tests for 22 adult learners in 2023.
• A basic literacy program that teaches adults to read.
• A tutor training program, which trains more than 200 volunteer adult literacy tutors each year.

The council holds an annual conference for volunteer literacy tutors – the next one is March 22 – as well as occasional workshops for tutors. Lorie Wigle, executive director of the council, said she was very excited to add a workshop on trauma-informed practices, in recognition that experiencing trauma affects the way people learn, interact with others or receive services. Some tutors may find themselves working with people who have fled their countries because of war or persecution, for example, or with people who have difficult memories of their schooling.

> Donate to Portland Literacy Council or the General Fund of Time for Sharing. You can also text the code SHARE2024 to 44-321.

The Portland Literacy Council hopes to use its Season of Sharing funds to expand its tutor pool, update its website with more resources for the 1,500 tutors already in its database, and expand its GED voucher program beyond from the Portland area.

The council does its work on a budget of $56,000, about half of which comes from grants and the rest from donations and training fees. Volunteers are the council’s lifeblood — even though it has been around since 1993, it didn’t hire its first employee, Wigle, until 2023. Wigle and two other employees all work part-time.

Wigle said the board works closely with partners such as the Multnomah County Library and community colleges. Complete the GED voucher program. “There are GED navigators at a lot of community colleges and if they realize that maybe someone needs a little more help, they’ll send it to us,” she said .

Assistance can be up to $250 per adult learner for GED practice tests, official GED tests and test retakes, Wigle said.

Help can also mean moral support while someone takes the language arts, math, social studies, and science tests required to earn a GED certificate. “I think just having someone pay attention to their progress and monitor scores and so on is helpful,” Wigle said.

This was the case for Herman, who stayed in touch with Peggy Murphy, one of nine volunteer board members, during his GED journey.

“Every time I took a test and passed it, I was like, ‘Hey Peggy, I passed it,’” Herman said. Murphy would respond, “I’m so happy for you.” It’s so awesome. You can continue. Her encouragement made the process easier and more exciting and kept him motivated, he said.

Between financial and moral support, Herman said, the Portland Literacy Council did a lot to reduce his anxiety about the expense and time spent getting his GED.

“It was awesome,” he said of the day he got his certificate. “I also wanted to capture the momentum that I felt like I was exhibiting. So I said to myself, I’m going to keep going to school and see what happens.

“I’m really, really trying to stay the course.”

What your donation can do

$50: Help pay for three volunteers to attend a tutoring workshop.

$250: Pays for an adult learner to obtain a GED certificate.

$500: Sponsors three tutors for basic literacy training.