Volunteer Opportunities

  • Tutor
  • Committee Member
  • Front Desk Assistant
  • Test Proctor
  • Orientation Assistant

Tutor Overview

Volunteer Tutoring at York Literacy Institute can be very rewarding as you help an adult student become self-sufficient and help fulfill the mission of our institute.

As a newly trained tutor, you will be matched with a student to meet weekly for 60-90 minute sessions at a public location. Tutors assist with Adult Reading and English as a Second Language students to improve their basic literacy skills by preparing lessons, giving homework, and encouraging student through the learning process.

Tutor Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent; sensitivity, patience, and reliability; and completion of a preliminary interview and certification course.

Tutors select an Adult Reading Student or an English as a Second Language Student. Tutors select their tutoring times, location, and reading level of each student.

Tutors may also tutor short term students with short term goals such as finishing a portion of their High School Equivalency test or preparing for a nursing course. Tutoring may take place in person or through remote learning.

Committees Overview

Without the dedication and assistance of volunteers and committee members, YLI would not be able to help York County residents improve their literacy skills.

Each committee works diligently to guide YLI and our programs into the future.

Committees Requirements

We welcome assistance from individuals with a variety of skills, experience, or education.

Front Desk Assistant Overview

Volunteer Front Desk Assistants must have a pleasant, professional demeanor and be able to work with a diverse population. Duties include processing mail, customer service, answering phones, greeting students and walk-in visitors, assisting with bulk mailings, and assisting with event preparation.

Front Desk Assistant Requirements

A High School diploma or equivalent experience required. Ability to communicate well with diverse audiences required. Strong organizational skills and related office experience preferred.

Test Proctor Overview

The Volunteer Test Proctor is responsible for administering adult high school equivalency testing. This includes monitoring students, answering questions, providing materials and tracking time.

Test Proctor Requirements

A bachelor’s degree required. Unquestionable integrity and of good moral character. Be able to manage groups of test takers in an effective, efficient, and friendly manner. Have the ability to complete forms and to read directions clearly to test takers. Cannot be involved in any high school equivalency instruction.

Orientation Assistant Overview

The Volunteer Orientation Assistant helps Adult Education Coordinators prepare and host student orientation sessions. This includes greeting students, answering questions, providing materials, tracking attendance, and taking student photos.

Orientation Assistant Requirements

A High School diploma or equivalent experience is required. Demonstrated interest and/or experience with multicultural programs required. Ability to communicate well with diverse audiences. Ability to work within and support a team environment.

Bea Blatner Volunteer of the Year: Alice Muldrow

  York Literacy Institute (YLI) is proud to honor Alice Muldrow, Vice President of Human Resources at Doceo, as the York Literacy Institute 2025 Bea Blatner Volunteer of the Year. Alice has volunteered with YLI for the past 10 years, first serving on the Fund...

Transforming Lives: Reflections of a Volunteer Tutor

Alexis Stegemann's commitment to community service is deeply rooted in her life-long history of volunteering. Since 2016, she has been a dedicated tutor at the York Literacy Institute (YLI), where she provides educational support to adults preparing to take High...

Helpful Web Resources for YLI Tutors

GED Webinar

This webinar series will take a deeper dive into classroom strategies and techniques for the GED test.

Sessions are designed for educators who have already completed foundational-level training, either by attending in-person training or by using self-guided professional development resources.

Learn More Here

Lesson Planz

A full directory of lesson plans for various grades and subjects at your fingertips.

Learn More Here

New Readers Press

New Readers Press is a building division of ProLiteracy. For 40 years the organization has been providing educators with instructional tools to teach adult students and older teens with skills for functioning in the world today.

Learn More Here

PA Adult Education Resources

Visit the Pennsylvania Adult Education Resources website for a variety of teaching resources, webinars, and more.

Learn More Here

Practical Money Skills

With a diverse range of resources, including free lesson plans, educational games for classroom use and profiles of inspiring educators.

Practical Money Skills hopes to empower educators, enable student learning and help provide people of all ages with the tools necessary for financial success.

Learn More Here

Proliteracy

The largest adult literacy and basic education membership organization in the nation, believes that a safer, stronger, and more sustainable society starts with an educated adult population. For more than 60 years, ProLiteracy has been working across the globe to create a world where every person can read and write.

Learn More Here

The Literacy assistance center

The Literacy Assistance Center is a non-profit professional development and technical assistance organization dedicated to building the capacity and improving the quality of adult literacy and out-of-school youth programs. We work to strengthen and expand the Adult Basic Education, High School Equivalency and English for Speakers of Other Languages teachers and programs.

Learn More Here

The National assessment of educational progress (NEAP)

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is an assessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas.

Learn More Here

NAEP Reports for Students with Disabilities or ESL Students

The Tesl Journal

The TESL Journal offers articles, research papers, lesson plans, classroom handouts, teaching ideas, and links for teachers of English as Second Language.

Learn More Here

Your Brain on Books

What happens to the mind when we read?

Any book lover can tell you: diving into a great novel is an immersive experience that can make your brain come alive with imagery and emotions and even turn on your senses. It sounds romantic, but there’s real, hard evidence that supports these things happening to your brain when you read books. In reading, we can actually physically change our brain structure, become more empathetic, and even trick our brains into thinking we’ve experienced what we’ve only read in novels.

Read the Article Here