It’s been a long time since the majority of us even thought about reading and writing. For most adults, those skills seem as natural as breathing. But it was early in our lives, as first graders, gripping fat, yellow pencils in small hands, that we began to learn how to print our names in large block letters and also how to read. By the end of first grade most of us could write words legibly in manuscript form and read with a vocabulary of about 100 words. Then, grade by grade, we perfected our reading and writing skills, so that by the time we entered middle school, nearly all of us were proficient in both of those skills.

However, there are always those children who, for a myriad of reasons, work at a slower pace and who find either reading or writing, or both, extraordinarily difficult. With extra help and attention, many of them are able to catch up to grade level, but some, who can’t or won’t ask for help, somehow manage to hide their disability and pass from grade to grade, albeit with little or no reading or writing skills.

Many are able to fool everyone and graduate with their classes, but others simply can’t cope and end up as drop outs, precipitating a lifetime of low-paying, mostly unsatisfying jobs.

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“Knowing how to read and write is very important,” said Jo Purvis, “right up there with the right to have food and shelter.”

Purvis, who founded the Washington Parish Literacy Council in 1987, is a woman who has made it her mission to teach people to read and write.

“I just have a passion for it,” she said, and by talking to her or watching her work it’s easy to see just how much she enjoys doing what she does.

She noted the ancient proverb that you can give a man a fish and feed him for a day, or you can teach him to fish and feed him for a lifetime, meaning that it is more valuable to teach someone how to do something than to do it for them. That’s exactly what Jo Purvis does: She volunteers her time and her talent to teach essential skills for survival to anyone who asks for help. And she has done so for more than 50 years.

Purvis started volunteering in the mid-1950s when she first learned of the need many adults have for literacy tutoring. Her first student, she says, remains a vivid memory. He was a man in New Iberia who was a successful businessman, who even owned his own business. However, he couldn’t read, or not very well, but he managed to hide it from everyone except his wife. She covered for him and he learned to cover for himself. Many times, Purvis said, he would say he forgot his glasses to get out of reading.

“They have lots of ways to cover,” she said. “From then on I’ve always been involved in literacy training.”

Purvis’ husband, Charles, is a minister, and for years they moved whenever he was called to a new church.

She began her training to teach literacy in New Iberia, learning the Laubach method, which is a way to teach reading and writing phonetically. When they moved to California, she taught migrant workers. In Oregon, where she says there is a higher literacy rate, she got involved in teaching English as a second language. And more recently, she has been helping people prepare to pass their GED exam.

Returning to Bogalusa in 1986, Purvis saw a need for tutors right here in Washington Parish. At that time, she said, the closest literacy program was in Covington. Upon seeing the need, Purvis acted. She founded the Literacy Council in 1987 and the following year it became an agency of the United Way, which is now its sole source of funding for purchasing books and necessary supplies.

The council is all-volunteer and has no permanent facility. Tutors use libraries, the YWCA, churches, homes and even the donut shop for one-on-one and class tutoring. In addition to reading and writing, the Literacy Council also works with students who need help with spelling, they help children of non-English-speaking parents with homework and, with the help of Center Lodge No. 244 F&AM, they now have material to help those with dyslexia. Because many people are embarrassed about their lack of skills, they don’t want anyone to know. For that reason, schedules for one-on-one confidential tutoring are arranged between tutor and student.

Volunteering is rewarding but it does require dedication and commitment. “A lot of people care about literacy but finding the time is not easy,” Purvis said with a smile. But for anyone who is working part time or has retired it is not a huge time commitment. Volunteers are asked to work two days a week for about an hour and a half on average. They are, however, asked to commit to working with a student for about a year.

Recently, the Washington Parish Literacy Council became a member of ProLiteracy of America, which is a division of ProLiteracy Worldwide. It is the largest adult literacy organization in the United States, with more than 1,200 member groups nationwide. ProLiteracy is dedicated to providing the highest quality information, training, and technical assistance to advance the work of the adult literacy field. According to Purvis, by paying a membership fee to the organization, they get many benefits, including literature, newsletters and a 25 percent discount on all of the books they use for teaching.

Purvis has completed a three-day course to “tutor the tutors,” she said. Training to become a volunteer requires about eight hours of training over two days, again, not a huge investment in time.

“We’ve had some wonderful tutors over the years,” Purvis said. “But they leave for various reasons and now we really need more volunteers.

“But, after all these years we’re still tutoring and we’re still here.”

For anyone interested in becoming a literacy volunteer or to request a tutor, please contact Jo Purvis at 985-735-6798. She’ll be happy to hear from you.