NC LiteracyCorps

The Duke University NC LiteracyCorps is a statewide consortium of AmeriCorps members working to build the capacity and impact of community and campus-based literacy programs. Members will provide direct service and/or capacity-building support to local education nonprofits and schools in Durham, Wake, Pitt, and Mecklenburg Counties.

The mission of the NC LiteracyCorps is to increase opportunities for North Carolina children and adults through tutoring, small group teaching, classroom assistance, and capacity-building activities that strengthen an organization’s abilities to increase reach and impact. NC LiteracyCorps members will work alongside education professionals to increase the academic achievement, English skills, High School completion, or access to education and community resources in five counties across the state.

Service Opportunities

Several full-and part-time 11 month positions will be available beginning September 1, 2025. Full-time Members will receive a living allowance of up to $30,000 and benefits over the 11 month period and an education award (if eligible) at the end of the service year. Halftime members receive a living allowance of $16,000 over an 11 month period and an education award (if eligible) at the end of the service year. Service schedules will be determined by local sites.

Apply

Interested applicants must apply through both the AmeriCorps portal:

National AmeriCorps Portal

Book Harvest | Durham, NC

Book Harvest Overview

Founded in 2011, Book Harvest is a North Carolina nonprofit organization based in Durham that provides an abundance of books and ongoing literacy support to families and their children from birth. Our innovative programs serve as a model for communities committed to ensuring that all children are lifelong readers and learners. Our vision is of a world in which reading, learning, and access to information are considered rights, not privileges, so that all children thrive.

Grounded in evidence and following best practices that produce measurable results, Book Harvest’s programs span a child’s life beginning from birth. We help children start kindergarten ready to learn, combat summer learning loss once they are in school, read proficiently in third grade, and fall in love with reading.

To date, we have provided more than 1,800,000 books and a wide array of literacy supports to North Carolina children and families. We are committed to replicating, sharing, and expanding our work so that the successes we realize may enable academic and life success for children across our country.

Service Description

Book Harvest is eager to welcome a NC Literacy Corps Member to our team of passionate childhood literacy advocates. With a shared commitment to interrupting entrenched cycles of generational poverty, we work to provide books and literacy supports to children during their first decade of life and to support parents so they experience the competence and confidence to be their child’s best brain builder and advocate.

The Book Harvest NC Literacy Corps Member will serve alongside the Book Harvest team to provide direct program and building capacity support to ensure the organization continues to operate with the expert efficiency and collaborative excellence for which it has become known over its 11 years. Much of the focus of the service the Book Harvest NC Literacy Corps Member will conduct will help Book Harvest address the disruption in learning and book access that has been the result of the Covid-19 pandemic. She/he/they will be supervised by the Book Babies Manager, and will collaborate closely with individual program managers to implement, deepen, and sustain essential Book Harvest functions.

Specific might include, as an example:

PROGRAM SUPPORT (40%)

Children’s Storytimes (15%): Plan high-quality, engaging storytimes and literacy activities for a wide age-range of children. Lead 1-5 high-quality storytimes each week (depending on schedule created with Book Babies Durham Manager) engaging children and families in read-alouds, partner reading, individual reading, and relevant language enrichment activities (games, crafts, writing). Provide a warm, fun, safe atmosphere for all children and families present.
Parent engagement (25%): Supporting the Book Harvest team of home visitors, the Book Harvest NC Literacy Corps Member will ensure that materials for families are coordinated, updated, and assembled to facilitate easy use and accessibility. He/she/they may also provide contactless delivery of materials and books to Book Babies Families’ homes.

PROGRAM SUPPORT (60%)

Book provision: The Book Harvest NC Literacy Corps Member will help ensure the safe organization and provision of books through Book Harvest’s many programs.
Data mapping and analysis: The Book Harvest NC Literacy Corps Member will help to develop Book Harvest’s comprehensive mapping project of Durham to ensure that the organization maintains an accurate picture of book access in the county and identifies opportunities for continuous, strategic book provision and partnerships. In addition, they may help research, analyze and organize programmatic data.
Sustaining Outreach Capacity: The Book Harvest NC Literacy Corps Member service will work Monday - Friday office hours 9am to 5pm, engaging with families who may be seeking age-appropriate, culturally diverse books, and completing various administrative tasks - writing thank you notes to book donors, tracking book donations, organizing bookshelves, sorting books, etc.

Durham Children's Initiative | Durham, NC

Durham Children’s Initiative (DCI) is committed to building pathways to equity by improving outcomes for children, families and youth living in Durham. Our long-term vision is to have all youth affiliated with DCI successfully graduate from high school, ready for college or a career. We work to achieve this vision by providing a pipeline of high-quality services for children, youth, and their families extending from birth through college and career that overcomes the barriers to their success. DCI collaborates with over 40 local organizations and community members who share our vision to provide these needed resources and supports to Durham children and families.

Service Summary

Sample service includes:

Providing specialized content specific coaching/tutoring and homework help with a literacy or math focus.  
Preparation, implementation, and tracking individualized interventions to improve student’s proficiency. 
Assisting with organizational skills/ learning strategies.  
Building study habits (accountability) in scholars. 
Extra support for scholars in specific core subjects (ELL/ELA, Science, Math).  
Providing support for college enrollment. 
Tracking student proficiency/growth and help implement interventions when necessary. 
Conducting virtual or in-person meetings with scholars as needed.
Discuss, plan, and work towards academic or personal goals. 
Communicate with scholars’ families about student goals and progress. 
Communicate with scholars’ teachers, counselors, or support staff as needed.
Communicate with appropriate DCI staff (i.e. Advocates, Academic Support Team members) as needed to streamline communication about successes, areas of growth, and support structures/plans.

Schedule

*DCI’s official office hours are Monday – Friday 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM. However, a flexible work schedule is often required. Candidates should be willing to work an occasional weekend or evening to meet the needs of our scholars and families

Koinonia Community Solutions, formerly KCC Community Development Center, is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization, established in 2014 as a separate, non-religious organization designed to expand the outreach initiatives of the Koinonia Christian Center Church, whose track record of outreach and service to the City of Greenville and the surrounding areas spans more than 31 years.

Since 2014, the KCC Community Development Center focused their work on serving youth and their families through a variety of services including educational support, parental partnership, case management and social intervention, leadership development, and college and career planning and preparation. For seniors, services focused on an assortment of efforts to address their overall well-being such as nutrition education, exercise and wellness, retirement and end of life planning, mental health and technology education. Signature programs such as the Max Factor Leadership Development for At Risk Males, Leadership Camp for Teens, Summer Reading Camp, The Big Dream Event along with EOG prep/tutoring, afterschool and summer academic enrichment programs have served well over a 1,000 youth in Pitt County and the surrounding areas. However, like many nonprofits, the Coronavirus pandemic brought the challenges and struggles of youth, families and underserved communities in Pitt County and northeastern North Carolina into sharp focus.

With a national spotlight on the lack of equity and opportunity in underprivileged and minority communities and the tremendous effects of the pandemic upon underserved communities in view, the Board of Directors undertook bold action to rename the organization, realign its mission, and refocus its program initiatives to reflect a commitment to providing a deeper level of community service and engagement to help undergird youth and families and rebuild northeastern North Carolina communities. Targeting the deep impacts of the pandemic, notably in education, community economics, and housing, Koinonia Community Solutions stands ready to offer solutions to meet the challenges faced by youth, families, and underserved communities in a post-pandemic northeastern North Carolina.

Partners for Success | Durham, NC

A support office for the Duke Program in Education, Partners for Success (PfS) works with select service-learning education courses to support meaningful field experiences for education minors, teaching certification candidates, and any undergraduate who has an interest in service-learning, child development, and the field of education.

The goals of PfS are to:

Connect Durham teachers and programs with a consistent source of trained volunteer tutors.
Provide opportunities for Duke undergraduates to participate in and observe school- and community-based learning environments.
Encourage Duke undergraduates to engage prek-12th grade students academically and socially through the cultivation of positive relationships.
Facilitate Duke undergraduates’ development through critical reflection that connects field experiences with education coursework.

Currently, PfS is partnered with the following courses:

Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education (EDUC 101)
Educational Psychology (EDUC/PSYCH 240)
Children, Schools and Society (EDUC 243)

Service Summary

Assist with service-learning placement of Duke Undergraduates; Research other tutoring and mentoring program models; Assist with volunteer tutor training and ongoing support; Create tutor support materials and stay up-to-date on literacy- and education-based trainings and educational talks available; Create virtual and in-person small group reflection activities; Read and respond to service-learning reflections; Maintain and update tutoring program records and the PfS website; Create a program newsletter.

Several years ago, Jan Frantz was volunteering as a tutor at Northwoods Elementary when she realized that not every child has the resources necessary to improve their reading and writing skills. In October of 2007, after months of research, Frantz quit her corporate job in order to help children in Wake County. Frantz purchased an RV and converted it into a mobile classroom that could travel to the neighborhoods of children in need. Frantz loaded the mobile classroom with books that she had been collecting in her attic. Then she prepared sloppy joes to serve the children for supper. Not sure what to expect, Frantz arrived at Penny Road Elementary in Cary to offer the first Read and Feed program. Sure enough, seven eager children came aboard the mobile classroom ready to read and learn.

The program has expanded to serve more than 700 children each year. With three mobile classrooms and additional sites in Communities in Schools, area churches, we now serve 24 program sites in Raleigh, Cary, Apex, Fuquay-Varina, Holly Springs, Rolesville, and Knightdale. Our more than 500 active volunteers provide 7,700 hours of tutoring, drive our mobile classrooms, deliver food and supplies, sort and distribute the 15,000+ books we give to children annually, and provide crucial administrative services.

Overview

The Triangle Literacy Council (TLC) improves the lives of adults, youth, and families by teaching basic literacy and life skills for economic and social success. YouthBuild is an international program which works with low-income youth to help rebuild their communities and their lives. Bull City YouthBuild is a full-time, 10-month program that helps young adults earn their high school equivalency/diploma while providing hands-on job skills training in the construction industry.

Service Summary

Position: Bull City YouthBuild Program Assistant, (NC Literacy Corps)
REPORTS TO: Bull City YouthBuild Program Director
POSITION SUMMARY: The Program Assistant works with participants ages 16 to 20 and ensures their readiness for successful participation in the Bull City YouthBuild program.

Duties and Responsibilities (example)

The individual will be responsible for the following:

Assisting YouthBuild students with their educational needs while pursuing their High School Equivalency (GED) utilizing approved instructional guides provided by the Academic Instructor
Developing partnerships and interest inventories that will provide career opportunities that are aligned with Bull City YouthBuild students’ interests and goals
Creating a roster of potential speakers, a site visit inventory, and job shadowing opportunities
Meeting with students at monthly to review their individual development plans and document progress towards their career goals
Assisting students with mock interviewing, resume writing, and soft skills development using the Work Smart independent skills curriculum.
Developing a social media marketing plan to help promote the program to potential employers
Maintaining quarterly contact with employers of students to maximize student employment retention and success. Data should be notated on employer verification form and student case note.

Freedom School Partners | Charlotte, NC

Freedom School Partners minimum-time members will teach small group literacy classes and enrichment activities in locations throughout Charlotte (Summer 2022).