Sponsored & Legacy Institutions - Stories

By Katie Anderson, 
Program Support Coordinator, Siena Literacy Center

 May 9, 2025, Detroit – Siena Literacy Center recently celebrated its 30th anniversary with a Volunteer Awards Ceremony at the North Rosedale Park Community House. Seven volunteers were honored:

•    Angel Bender, a one-year volunteer, with the Rising Volunteer of the Year Award.

•    Mary Brown, a one-year volunteer, with the Sister Lenore Boivin Adaptive Teaching Award. Sister Lenore, an Adrian Dominican, was a longtime staff member and a tutor who created tutor training sessions.  

•    Lisa Grow, a two-year volunteer, with the English Language Tutor of the Year Award.

•    Jim Petersen, an eight-year volunteer, with the Math Tutor of the Year Award.

•    Anne Thomson, a six-year volunteer, with the Reading Tutor of the Year Award.

•    Anne Van Amerongen, a 23-year tutor – and the longest-serving volunteer – with the Sister Mary Hemmen Lifetime Service Award. The award was named for Adrian Dominican Sister Mary Hemmen, OP, who established Siena Literacy Center in 1995.

“We are so gratified to kick off our yearlong anniversary festivities by honoring our awardees and recognizing our other approximately 60 volunteers,” said Caitlyn Pisarski, Executive Director. “They mean so much to us and to the learners who come to us for our services.”

Siena Literacy Center provides effective education programs for adults seeking to improve their ability to meet the challenges of everyday living by learning foundational skills in reading, writing, math, and English as a Second Language (ESL), in keeping with the Dominican commitment to education. Siena has partnered since 2023 with Detroit at Work to provide educational services to students in the Learn to Earn and JumpStart programs.

Siena serves learners from 30 countries, including 17 from Africa, five from the Middle East, five from North and Central America, one from South America, and two from Southeast Asia.  

Siena’s main location is on the Christ the King Campus in Northwest Detroit, with additional space for ESL classes at the St. Suzanne Cody Rouge Community Resource Center, also in Detroit.
 

Feature photo at top: Angela Bender, second from right, recipient of the Rising Volunteer Award, stands with Siena Literacy Center staff members, from left, Katie Anderson, Program Support Coordinator; Eva Shillair, Program Manager; and Caitlyn Pisarski, Executive Director.