Janice Cuddahee
Founded in September 2019, the Janice Cuddahee Fund honors the memory of a literacy advocate who enjoyed a long career with Literacy New York (LNY), culminating in her leading the organization as Executive Director.
Janice Cuddahee's lifetime of service to LNY made our New York network the best in the nation. Janice was, as so many have said, a literacy warrior. She fought for literacy learners; she fought for the role of well-trained volunteers in adult education; she fought for NY State funding; and she fought for increased public awareness of low-level adult literacy in our state and across the nation. Sadly, we lost Janice to cancer in April, 2019.
Janice always believed that volunteers, technology and an online tutor training system could help meet the enormous needs of low-literacy adults across NY State and the nation. Janice's passion forms the foundation of the first project of the Janice Cuddahee Fund: The Janice Cuddahee Tutor Support Program. With the resources of the Janice Cuddahee Fund, Literacy New York will make Janice's passion a reality and use technology to train and support more volunteer tutors.
We'll ensure, as she always wanted, that small and insufficiently-funded organizations have the opportunity to apply for online tutor training grants.
For someone who occasionally struggled with the "how to" of hardware and software, Janice had an incredible vision for the potential technology had for adult literacy. Thanks to her dream and hard work, LNY developed, delivers, and supports a professional online tutor training curriculum that is making a significant impact across the state.
Even if you did not know Janice personally, think about what she wrestled with daily: the 3.9 million New York adults - parents, caregivers, and neighbors in our communities - who do not have a high school diploma and need basic skills. She constantly asked: "how can we ever begin to train enough tutors and instructors so that we could make a greater impact?" She knew technology could be the strategy that would provide a professional, evidenced-based tutor training that allows for consistency and quality for any organization.
Fox Valley Literacy, WI - Tutor with Student
