The Official Blog of the Scotland County Literacy Council!

Checking Your Blood Pressure

2008-08-06T09:44:00.005-04:00

Checking your blood pressure is easy. At the Wal-Mart in town, you can check your blood pressure at the machine near the pharmacy. It's free and gives results in just a few minutes.
Blood pressure has three factors: Systolic pressure, Diastolic pressure and pulse.
Systolic pressure is the pressure on your blood vessels from when your heart beats to pump blood. Diastolic pressure is the pressure on your blood vessels when your heart is resting. Pulse is the number of times your heart beats a minute.
If someone says they have a blood pressure of 120 over 80, with a pulse of 72, that means they have a systolic pressure of 120 and a diastolic pressure of 80. It would be written as 120/80.
The normal healthy range for Systolic pressure is 110-140. The normal range for Diastolic pressure is 70-90. The average value is 120/80. The range for a healthy pulse of an adult at rest is 60-100. Someone who is very athletic may have a pulse lower than that at rest and still be healthy.
If your pulse or blood pressure is not in the healthy range, you should consult a doctor. Some diseases, like high blood pressure, are treatable with medication but can be dangerous if left untreated.

SCLC to hold résumé writing workshop

2008-08-06T09:41:00.001-04:00

The Scotland County Literacy Council will hold a résumé writing workshop on Tuesday, Aug. 12, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at its office, the Sanford House, on the corner of Cronley Street and McLaurin Avenue.
“This workshop will help people understand the nuts and bolts of résumé writing,” said Matthew Hensley, an AmeriCorps member currently working with the organization. “It will teach people why they are important, what goes into them, how to set them up and how to write a cover letter.”
This workshop is part of Learn-to-Earn, a program designed to help people with poor reading and writing abilities attain work-related skills. The focus is on getting people into the workforce while helping them budget finances, earn a G.E.D. and take work-related tests.
“People with poor reading skills, especially those without a diploma or G.E.D., are disproportionately affected by the unemployment crisis in Scotland County,” said Hensley. “Programs like Learn-to-Earn are needed to help this population find stable employment now that so many manufacturing jobs have left the area.”
The Scotland County Literacy Council is a Pro-Literacy accredited non-profit organization that has been serving the literacy needs of Scotland County for over thirty years. For information, call 276-7007.

Student John Gibson Receives GED at the age of 60

2008-07-03T11:13:00.002-04:00

Mr. John Gibson received multiple and enthusiastic applause at our annual Student and Volunteer Recognition event on April 29th at the Sanford House. He was acknowledged for good reason-he had just accomplished a life long dream by earning a GED at age 60. We were both proud and happy for him at the same time. Mr. Gibson showed unusual perseverance, showing up to study every day for a year. His dedication was a wonderful model for the rest of our students. On June 19, in cap and gown, he walked across the stage at Richmond Community College to receives his richly deserved diploma. We wish you all the best !!

LEARN-TO-EARN

2008-06-17T15:39:00.002-04:00

The Scotland County Literacy Council is starting LEARN-TO-EARN, a new program designed to meet the dual literacy-employment needs of the community.

Nationally, many studies and statistics have linked joblessness to low-literacy skills and Scotland County is no exception. When the WestPoint Stevens plant closed last year, as many as half the people who lost their jobs lacked a high school diploma and GED. Many manufacturing jobs don’t require basic literacy skills, and as these kinds of jobs are scaled back by our global economy, a real need has emerged to handling both the employment and the education aspects of a layoff.

The Learn-to-Earn program is designed specifically to help people with low-literacy skills reenter the workforce. It will include counseling, tips on applying for jobs, assistance preparing for work-related tests like the WorkKeys Skills test, basic computer skills, and help managing finances.

However, Learn-to-Earn is not strictly for people reentering the workforce. It can also help people who are looking for a better-paying job, give practical solutions for reducing spending and managing time, teach people how to use computers, or help people get government assistance.

If you know anyone who is interested or if you’d like to volunteer with this program, feel free to give us a call at (910) 276-7007 or e-mail us at scotlandcntylit@bellsouth.net.

Community Outreach

2007-10-15T10:32:00.001-04:00

We've been busy these past few weeks!

First, on October 5th, we attended the Scotland County Job and Community Fair. The fair was a success, drawing more than 300 job searchers. Nearly 50 employers were on hand to accept applications. There were also a number of vendors offering services to help people gain employment. We signed up a number of people that were interested in our services, making this a success for us.

Then, on October 13, we visited the John Blue Cotton Festival where we gained exposure by holding a coloring contest for children. With more than 10,000 people at the festival, we feel this was a strong effort towards recruiting tutors. We passed out a number of coloring books to children and had 56 entries in our coloring contest. We only signed up one persdon to tutor, but a number of others are mulling over whether they have time to volunteer and are considering tutoring.

Over the next few weeks, we hope to enroll new students and tutors from these efforts. Only time will tell how successful we really were, but we remain confident and look forward to seeing the results.

The Need for Health Literacy

2007-09-28T09:57:00.002-04:00

Medical illiteracy is the most major contributing factor to poor health, both in America and world-wide, and is 100% preventable. Here are excerpts from several recent articles on medical literacy.

"Ninety million people in the U.S. alone struggle with health literacy, according to the American Medical Association. Health literacy is defined by the Institutes of Medicine as the degree to which an individual can obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. That means any of 90 million Americans might be leaving a doctor's office with an asthma inhaler they don't understand how to use, getting diabetes medication whose directions are a blur or rushing by car to the hospital with chest pains but can't read the signs to the emergency room."

From the Chicago Tribube. Read the full article at http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/health/chi-0925_health_literacy_halfsep25,1,6475676.story

"Using medications correctly. Managing diabetes. Signing up for Medicaid.
Millions of Americans have trouble understanding and performing such tasks. They have problems with health literacy — struggling to process basic information that allows them to make major medical decisions.
Elderly patients, those with limited English proficiency and even well-educated adults can have difficulty comprehending a physician's instructions.
And those who have trouble understanding such information tend to get hospitalized more and use emergency services more, leading to billions of dollars in avoidable costs, researchers have found.

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Full article at http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2007/09/28/libraries_humana_0928g.html

"Of the people considered to have low health literacy, only 15 percent adhered to the specific directions on their medication. "

From the East Tennessean. Full article at http://media.www.easttennessean.com/media/storage/paper203/news/2007/09/24/News/Stinsons.Speech.Highlights.Importance.Of.Health.Literacy-2987161.shtml

"Confronted with figures showing that more than 225,000 adults in the county aren't getting the reading and math help they need, the United Way of Tarrant County has set out to dramatically bolster area literacy programs through the Tarrant Literacy Coalition.
The coalition's launch at a luncheon Monday comes about a year after about 200 nonprofit, government and business leaders began meeting, doing research and conducting literacy focus groups. About 20 percent of Tarrant County adults, or about 238,000 people, have "below basic" literacy skills. That means, at best, they can only perform the simplest tasks, like searching a paragraph for what a patient can drink before a medical test or adding the amounts on a deposit slip.
Privately and publicly funded literacy programs serve less than 4 percent of that population, the United Way says."

From the Star Telegram. Full article at http://www.star-telegram.com/metro_news/story/246393.html

October 2nd - Café Libre

2007-09-21T10:40:00.000-04:00

Scotland County Literacy Council & Mochatopia Coffee House present:

Café Libri

Scotland County Literacy Council and Mochatopia Coffee House are combining services to assist illiterate citizens of Scotland County and to raise awareness as to how severely each resident of our county is affected. Each month we will have a different event focusing on the needs of the SCLC, like tutoring and funding, but also sharing the hope for a better future from learning how to read...and that hope touches all of us!!

October 2, 2007

Come hear the compelling story of author Lillie Davis, A New Beginning: It’s a Blessing to be Alive. Lillie Davis is a survivor of the Imperial Food Processing fire of September 1991, in Hamlet. She said, “Christ saved me from the flames that day, and is responsible for my being here today.” The doors were locked that day, preventing many from escaping. 25 people lost their lives and another 50 were injured.

Ms. Davis is an adult learner of the Scotland County Literacy Council and would love to share her story with you.

First 20 minutes is for meet, greet and eat.

Next to Papa John’s Pizza and Movie Gallery in front of Holly Square Shopping Center
Any further questions please call Mark Gretch, Scotland County Literacy Council, at 276-7007 or Lana or Shawn Richards, Mochatopia Coffee House, at 266-0148

Date: 10/02/07
Time: 7:30pm
Come support Scotland County literacy at Mochatopia Coffee House!!!

“Café Libri” is an on going monthly event to support literacy in Scotland County. If you or your business would like to support the Scotland County Literacy Council or “Café Libri” with time or a generous donation, please give Mark Gretch a call.

The Scotland Literacy Council is Now on Blogger!

2007-09-11T10:26:00.000-04:00

With the launch of our official blog, we hope to keep people better informed of who we are, what we offer, and how they can get involved.