Blue Ridge Literacy was founded in 1985 by two librarians who wanted to address a need in their community. 

The mission of Blue Ridge Literacy is to support achievement of life goals by providing opportunities to strengthen literacy skills to adults in western Virginia. One of our main philosophies is to keep a learner's goals and interests in mind when working with them.

We encourage our volunteers, teachers, and tutors to get to know their learner or classroom so that they are better able to teach. Similarly, we tell all of our learners to ask their teachers questions and to tell their instructor what they are interested in. Operating tutoring sessions and classes in this way ensures a reciprocal relationship that may differ from a traditional student/teacher dynamic. BRL has found that developing relationships in an educational setting aids the learning process when working with adult learners.

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All 1:1 tutor training and classroom training is available to adults in the Virginia counties of Roanoke, Botetourt, Franklin, Alleghany and Craig, and the cities of Roanoke and Salem.