The Greenville Literacy Association is the largest community-based adult literacy program in South Carolina and one of the most highly developed in the nation.  Adults come to GLA in order to improve their reading, writing, math, computer, or English speaking skills.  In response to their educational goals, GLA trains community volunteers to become small group or one-on-one tutors.  Greenville Literacy has expanded its services to five fully equipped and staffed learning centers across Greenville County and assists church and neighborhood literacy programs near these centers.

The Mission of the Greenville Literacy Association is to empower adults to participate more effectively in the community by providing quality instruction in reading, writing, math, and speaking English.

Greenville Literacy volunteers are a diverse and friendly crowd including: retired individuals, teachers, church members, mothers with children in school, young professionals, business people, lawyers, Rotarians, professors, computer programmers, business owners, college students, and world travelers.  If you have any interest in becoming a volunteer tutor or volunteering with GLA in another capacity please click here.

The Adult Basic Education (ABE) program provides reading, writing, spelling, mathematics, and computer skills instruction to adults.  These sessions, led by a trained volunteer tutor, may be one-on-one or small group.  Pre-GED and introduction to computer classes offer opportunities for ABE students to reach their personal goals.  In addition, students may work on educational software in the computer lab to reinforce and practice skills introduced in their classes.

In response to the rapid growth of the international population to our community, Greenville Literacy trains volunteers to lead small classes in the English as a Second Language (ESL) Program.  The goal is to help internationals improve their English proficiency.  Pronunciation and conversation classes supplement basic English instruction.  Educational software in the computer lab and audio and videotapes add opportunities to improve communication skills.

Our five learning centers are located at:

The Downtown Learning Center at McAlister Square
225 S. Pleasantburg Drive
Suite C-10
Greenville, SC 29607
(864) 467-3456
Contact Downtown by E-mail

The John I. Smith Learning Center
Northwest Crescent Family & Child Development Center
925 N. Franklin Road
Greenville, SC 29617
(864) 467-3464
Contact John I. Smith by E-mail

The Golden Strip Learning Center
Center for Community Services
1102 Howard Drive
Simpsonville, SC 29681
(864) 688-2212
Contact Golden Strip by E-mail

The Greer Learning Center
J. Harley Bonds Resource Center
505 North Main Street
Greer, SC 29650
(864) 848-5370
Contact Greer by E-mail

The Rotary Family Literacy Center
Located inside the YWCA
700 Augusta Street
Greenville, SC 29607
(864) 373-6312
Contact Rotary Family by E-mail