'Miracle' gifts will allow literacy center to stay open

An outpouring of community support has enabled the downtown branch of Trident Literacy Association to remain open after it was set to close earlier this week.

Signs were posted Tuesday announcing the facility's imminent closure and a farewell party for students and staff.

Harsh cuts in state funding, coupled with a dramatic drop in local donations, had forced the agency to make some tough decisions; and closing one of its largest sites was necessary to keep the rest of the nonprofit afloat.

Association Executive Director Eileen Chepenik ripped the signs down Thursday after contributions enabled the downtown site to remain open.

"I was so happy to see the faces of the students because they're the ones who really benefit," she said. "If the center closed, I don't know what they would do. It is a real miracle for them, for their families and for the whole community because now they'll be able to improve their skills and become self-sufficient."

Trident Literacy Association needs about $200,000 to continue operating next year as it did this past year. The Gilbreth Family Fund through the Coastal Community Foundation gave $100,000 to the cause, and The Post and Courier Foundation contributed $25,000.

Bill Hawkins, editor and publisher of The Post and Courier, said officers of the company reached out to the two foundations because they felt strongly about the vital role the agency plays in fighting illiteracy in Charleston. "Illiteracy is a huge problem in the community, and The Post and Courier plans to keep reporting on the issue and will help the agency raise money to continue its life-changing work," he said.

That help is coming from various places. Local philanthropist Anita Zucker has promised $25,000 to the association if the community can match that amount in donations, and First Federal and a coalition of businesses on Thursday launched Operation Open Book, a fund to which community members can make donations to the literacy association to meet the immediate goal of $200,000.

"The overwhelming response to this is quite extraordinary," said Tom Hood, president of First Federal. "With everybody concerned about what's going to happen tomorrow, it really restores your faith that a community can come together so quickly to really help those folks lined up who want to learn to read."

Although the group is well on its way to becoming solid for next fiscal year, Chepenik emphasized that the saving donations are just a start and more funds are needed. The association still plans to close one of its seven sites — the United Way building in Summerville that serves about 50 students annually — lay off six employees, cut pay or hours for remaining employees and institute abbreviated hours of operation at two branches.

Chepenik credited the newspaper for pushing the issue of literacy and making it a hot one. A recent series of stories focused on the issue of illiteracy and revealed that more than 20 percent of Charleston County's rising ninth-graders read at a fourth-grade level or worse. The problem is prevalent throughout the Lowcountry, where one in seven adults in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties is functionally illiterate, defined as reading below an eighth-grade level.

Students and staff at the downtown branch smiled with relief and gratitude Thursday morning after learning their site would remain open. Ashley Gilford, 21, has been going there for nearly a year, and she's scheduled to take the GED next month. Gilford dropped out of Stall High School after she became pregnant, but she knew she wanted an education.

"Without it, all you can do is flip burgers and wash cars, and I wanted something better for me and my kids," she said.

Before she found Trident Literacy Association, she enrolled in GED preparation classes but didn't make much progress. She didn't understand the lessons and felt as if her teacher didn't want to help. That all changed when Gilford found the nonprofit. They are the first people she'll call after she takes the GED test, and she plans to bring her sister next week to give the site a try.

"It's the only place I know of that actually helps you," she said.

Reach Diette Courrégé at dcourrege@postandcourier.com or 937-5546.