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PITTSGROVE - Gateway Community Action Partnership’s Literacy Volunteers of Salem and Cumberland Counties recognized Judy Hunt, from Vineland, as the 2014 Tutor of the Year and Tammy Bitgood, from Upper Pittsgrove, as the 2014 Volunteer of the Year at a Tutor Appreciation Night on Wednesday, May 7.
“Gateway appreciates the dedication and hard work of Judy and Tammy,” said Albert B. Kelly, Gateway’s President and CEO. “Our mission is to provide services that improve the quality of life and promote self-sufficiency. By helping people improve their literacy skills and learn English, as Judy and Tammy have done, they play a huge role in advancing our mission. On behalf of Gateway, I thank them for volunteering their time to help others.”
Hunt, a retired pediatrician, is valuable for the quality of her tutoring and the quantity of her work. Hunt often tutors two or three learners at a time while providing GED instruction to Cumberland County jail inmates. Obtaining a GED can dramatically improve inmates’ employment and educational opportunities upon release.
“It is truly rewarding to see the difference you can make in someone’s life,” Hunt said when presented with the award at the appreciation event at the Pittsgrove Senior Center.
Laura Stanton, the program director, said: “Judy not only possesses a willingness to help, but she also has a strong determination to do things the right way. She is a program director’s dream because she does her job consistently and consistently does it well. Her learners are very lucky to have her and so are we.”
Bitgood, who teaches Spanish at Woodstown High School, has made a tremendous impact in the year she has been in the program. There is a need for quality ESL instruction in the region, and Bitgood has worked with Stanton in developing a popular and effective class that teaches English to the Spanish-speaking population.
Generous, innovative, creative and committed are just some of the words Stanton uses to describe Bitgood as a person and a teacher. The learners must agree, because they attend faithfully and are now bringing their friends.
“This is a wonderful program,” Bitgood said when presented her award. “I am so proud to be a part of it.”
Said Stanton: “I can’t say enough to express how grateful I am for all Tammy has contributed to this program and I am very proud to honor her with this award.”
The Literacy Volunteers of Salem and Cumberland Counties received the New Jersey “Affiliate of the Year” award in 2011 and 2013. Stanton also thanked other tutors and volunteers at the event for their contributions to the program’s success. The event also included a workshop on financial literacy.
Gateway’s literacy program is funded in part by Atlantic City Electric, the Danellie Foundation, South Jersey Industries, Comcast and Century Savings Bank. For more information about Gateway’s literacy program, call Stanton at 856-497-6645.
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