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Literacy was championed from many vantage points when the Delaware County Literacy Council (DCLC) celebrated its 7th Annual Champions of Adult Literacy Fundraiser on October 23 at Harrah’s Casino in Chester. Three champions were honored during the evening. Jahlil Beats, Grammy®-winning music producer and Chester native, was honored as the Hometown Hero Champion at the event. Jahlil credited his father with teaching him to value knowledge and learning. Jahlil described himself as “coming from nothing and taking the opportunity, trying to gain as much knowledge as I can to get a step further.” He stressed, “It’s all about knowledge.” He also described his commitment to revitalizing the City of Chester. “I’m blessed by circumstances. Understanding that made me want to give back to my city,” he explained. Acknowledging the many guests at the event who “push for Chester” and do their part to make it a better place, he declared, “I want to continue to make them proud.” . The Delaware County Library System received the Community Champion award for being a vital and reliable resource for improving literacy. Catherine Bittle, Director of the Library System accepted the Champion award. She described the Library System’s 26 member libraries as “centers of their communities.” She recognized several library directors in attendance at the event, including Dr. Mark Winston of the Crozer Library in Chester, Jennifer Stock of the Helen Kate Furness Library in Wallingford, and Anny Laepple of the Radnor Memorial Library. Ms. Bittle also hinted that libraries sometimes get overlooked for all that they do, joking “We’re getting an award for something we do every day—should I tell them?” She then reminded the audience that libraries are the “great equalizer.” “At Delaware County Libraries, all people from all walks of life have the same access to items, services, and information,” she explained. Tatiana Moskatova was honored as the Student Champion. Ms. Moskatova started studying English as a Second Language (ESL) at the Literacy Council in 2006, just a few months after she arrived in the U.S. from Russia. She described the importance of learning English and how much she prized the Literacy Council’s free classes and tutoring. --MORE-- “I can't even imagine what would have happened with our lives if we didn't get all those English services in the beginning,” she explained. “In Russia I had my Master’s Degree in Jurisprudence and I worked at the State Department of Horticulture and Winemaking, but it was impossible to get anything equal to that position in the U.S.” She talked about the “vicious cycle” experienced by so many immigrants. “We don't have time and money to go to school and study English first because we have to pay our bills right away and help our children and, at the same time, we cannot find a decent job because we don't speak English.” In Ms. Moskatova’s case, she started by volunteering, then working in retail, and finally landing a job in data entry at the Literacy Council. She is now DCLC’s full-time Data Quality Manager. She praised the Literacy Council for its role in breaking the cycle for immigrants by helping them learn English. “I know, like nobody else, how it feels when you achieve something that looked impossible in the beginning,” she said. The evening also included a friendly game of Quizzo. Teams with names like Chester Trailblazers, Reading Wranglers, and Rizzo’s Quizzos competed for an impressive trophy and a basket of award-winning books. The game ended in a three-way tie, eventually broken by the Delaware County Library System’s team, appropriately named “Returning Champions”! The Delaware County Literacy Council has been providing free literacy instruction to Delaware County adults for 44 years. GED preparation, basic skill improvement, and ESL instruction are offered through classes, small groups, or one-on-one tutoring with a literacy volunteer. To learn more or to get involved, visit www.delcoliteracy.org. [Captions] [JahlilBeatsChampion:] Jahlil Beats, Grammy®-winning music producer and Chester native, was honored as the Hometown Hero Champion at the 2019 Champions of Adult Literacy event at Harrah’s in Chester. [Champions2019:] The 2019 Champions of Adult Literacy Quizzo Fundraiser, held October 23 at Harrah’s in Chester, honored three champions (left to right): Jahlil Beats, Hometown Hero Champion; Tatiana Moskatova, Student Champion; and the Delaware County Library System, Community Champion, represented by Catherine Bittle, the Library System’s Director. The event benefited the Delaware County Literacy Council. [QuizzoChampion:] Quizmaster Joe McGilvery (right) and Emcee Shonette Harrison-Carew (left) present Catherine Bittle with the winning trophy at the 2019 Champions of Adult Literacy Quizzo Fundraiser, held October 23 at Harrah’s in Chester. For the second year in a row, the team from the Delaware County Library System prevailed in the friendly Quizzo team trivia competition. #30# Contact Susan Keller, 610-876-4811, skeller@delcoliteracy.org