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The reason that many of us work in the field of adult education is to help change lives. We want to see people in our community rise above low education, poverty, unemployment or underemployment, and language barriers to reach their greatest potential. With the help of Emmy Award-winning director and writer Katie Damien, the Literacy Council at Buncombe County has captured the triumphant stories of learners in its program, and the impact that literacy support services can have on changing lives.

The resilience of the students in the video humbles me. They share disabilities such as brain damage and hearing loss that caused them to be labeled as lazy or stupid and to fall through the cracks of the educational system early on. However, they all believe in the same advice that motivated them to first pursue educational support at the Literacy Council: Don’t give up. One student, Elaine, tells viewers to “shoot for the stars. If you fall, get back up—shoot for the stars again.”

The Literacy Council of Buncombe County offers literacy support, ESL assistance, and GED and test preparation. The Literacy Council is a longtime ProLiteracy member, and we appreciate its dedication to adult literacy.