How Greenville Literacy Association helps adult learners flourish
Reading is an integral part of how we navigate the world around us. We read road signs, menus, and magazine articles. But according to the Greenville Literacy Association’s Executive Director Victoria Novak, 1 in 5 South Carolina adults read at or below the third grade level.
“Individuals who don’t read at that level, . . . they didn’t do it because they’re unintelligent or unmotivated. Somewhere along the way, they did not have a support system. They didn’t have access and opportunity to it,” she says.
GLA has worked to provide that support system and opportunities to adult learners since 1965. What started as a Saturday reading program for local mill workers sprouted into a nonprofit offering basic literacy, ESL, and GED preparation courses.
Planting the seeds
While GLA has evolved over the years, the programs remain a community effort. “Volunteers are truly the lifeblood of GLA,” says Novak. There are about 100 volunteers per semester teaching classes. However, not all of the volunteers are teachers. Novak says what makes the classroom experience so “invigorating” is that their volunteers come from such a wide variety of professional backgrounds, helping students see how their classroom learning translates to different career paths.
“Our volunteers come in wanting to impart their wisdom and they leave with their heart fulfilled because they were able to reach somebody,” says Novak.
The classroom experience is fueled by dedication and a-ha moments, valuing and celebrating each step toward greater literacy. “When you see a student’s eyes light up because they pass an exam . . . every time somebody passes one of their subjects, when you see that somebody feels like they can go to the doctor’s office without their child because they speak English well enough, and you hear those stories, that’s worth it,” says Novak.
Steady growth
GLA reaches beyond basic literacy to ensure students leave the program better prepared for their future, with programs and services including college and career counseling. Most recently, they launched a program called B.U.I.L.D. Your Future. Open to anyone in the community, B.U.I.L.D prepares students for the U.S. Entrepreneurship Certification and helps them create their own business plan. GLA is preparing to launch Spanish classes in spring 2027, as well as U.S. Citizenship and Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or ASVAB, test preparation.
Even though GLA has been around for over 60 years, Novak notes that many people in the Greenville area are not familiar with the organization. “We want to show them what our mission does for this community and the impact that it has when you educate somebody and move them into the workforce,” she says. GLA also hopes to increase community engagement with volunteers and donors in addition to students as the organization expands to more rural areas and the student registration waitlist grows into the hundreds.
“I think that when you are provided an opportunity for mentorship, for a sense of belonging, for education, and you learn something new, it opens up a whole world of what is possible,” says Novak.
The Really Good, Really Big, Really Cheap Book Sale
- August 2026 will mark its 25th anniversary
- About 175,000 books are donated from September 1st- June/July
- 20 dedicated volunteers process and organize the books with a dot sticker system
- About 110,000 books make it to the sale
- About 10,000 people come on general admission day
- About 3,000 people come on Big Bag Bonanza Day
You Can Go
- Aug 6, 8-9
- Aug 6: kickoff party 6-9pm, $100
- Aug 8: free admission, 9am-4pm
- Aug 9: Big Bag Bonanza 11am-3pm
- Fill a large canvas bag with as many books as you want for $15
