Muskoka Mosaic

Amy Nadrofsky-Freake has beat the odds, and now she is helping others to do the same.

When the Huntsville woman found herself the single mother of two toddlers at age 23, she was determined to build a successful life for herself and her children.

“Statistically, single parents are among the poorest in our society,” she says.“I decided I wasn’t going to let us become a statistic.”

So Nadrofsky-Freake, who had completed just one year of college in her teens, went back to school, earning first a two-year social services worker diploma from Canadore College and then a degree in sociology from Nipissing University.

How did she manage? “I have phenomenal family support,” Nadrofsky-Freake says. “My family is incredible. We’re so tight-knit, and they were behind me 110 per cent.”

After a stint as a part-time youth care worker and a year on contract as residential support services manager at Lakeland Long-term Care in Parry Sound, Nadrofsky-Freake saw an advertisement in the paper for the position of Muskoka Literacy Council program co-ordinator.

“I thought, ‘Wouldn’t that be nice, to work within the education field,’” she says. “I liked the idea of helping people move forward with their life.”

Nadrofsky-Freake has been working at the literacy council for a year now, and she says the job is a perfect fit.

“Every day is different,” she says. “I like to be creative; I like to be challenged; I like to be busy. This career does all those things.”

As the literacy council’s only year-round paid employee, Nadrofsky-Freake’s job description is a broad one.

She does intake assessments of those who want to take advantage of the literacy council’s services, determining each person’s needs and goals, then tailoring a program for them. She also runs the office, teaches some classes, develops new programs, and looks after fundraising and public relations.

Nadrofsky-Freake says one of her biggest challenges is getting past people’s preconceptions about what the literacy council does.

“People say, ‘I don’t need to go to the literacy council. I can read,’” she says. “But the literacy council does so much: we offer traditional literacy and numeracy tutoring, life skills, job skills, computer skills, college preparation, help with correspondence courses, and help people get ready for GED. And it’s all free.”

Several of these offerings were introduced by Nadrofsky-Freake herself.

For example, when she was first familiarizing herself with the literacy council’s resources, she came across some excellent vocational-type courses that hadn’t been used. Now, in partnership with Ontario Works, the council offers monthly workshops teaching job-related skills with a literacy focus.

“They look at the literacy and numeracy skills needed on a particular job,” she explains, adding that the workshops have been well attended.

Nadrofsky-Freake was also behind the joint proposal with Georgian College to deliver the ACE (Academic Upgrading for College Entrance) program at the literacy council beginning last January.

“It has gone so well the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities has decided to extend it,” she says.

While she’s busy creating learning opportunities for others, Nadrofsky-Freake continues to upgrade her own skills and knowledge. In fact, she is now only two courses away from receiving another B.A., in Social Welfare, also from Nipissing University. This degree has been completed part-time while also working and raising her children.

Just married in May, Nadrofsky-Freake says life is good.

She lives in downtown Huntsville with her husband Allan and her kids Deanna, 8, and Daryl, 7, and she wouldn’t want it any other way.

“I like being in a place where I can talk to strangers. I do that a lot,” she says with a laugh.

“And I was born here. I have a “I have a massive amount of family here, a wonderful network. It’s home for me.”