Volunteer Spotlight: Sarah Adler

When did you first start volunteering with The Literacy Council of Frederick County and what made you decide to do so?

I completed my volunteer training in June 2025 after seeing a flyer for the council at a local coffee shop. I’d been searching for a meaningful way to give back to the community, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to do that.

What kind of volunteering do you do with us? Please describe a meaningful experience that you have had while volunteering. 

Lately I have been volunteering every other week at one of the Learning Labs, which are a new addition to the program that allow all students to receive walk-in assistance with everything from conversation practice to job applications. During one of these labs, a student came in to go over some potential interview questions for their job hunt, and we wound up chatting for the entire two hours. They told me it was the longest conversation they’d ever had in English, and that it had given them the confidence to do things like talk to doctors on their own instead of relying upon family members to interpret. It was a great reminder that literacy isn’t just something that makes day-to-day life easier for our students, but a form of empowerment and freedom that we have the honor of helping them uncover.

What is something you have learned as a volunteer for the Literacy Council that you would like to share with our volunteer community?

Whenever I use a word that I’m not sure a student knows, I try to automatically follow it up with at least one or two other ways of saying the same thing so that they get to experience new vocabulary without the confusion that can come with it. So I might say something like, “I’m feeling kind of lethargic today—so tired, it’s hard to get going. How about you?”

What do you like to do when you’re not volunteering with us?

I am the bestselling author of three adult romantic comedies, with my fourth coming out in July. When not working or volunteering, I enjoy pilates, reading, drinking coffee, and spending time with my husband, seven-year-old, and very mischievous cat, Noodle.