ELKHART — The Elkhart Literacy Project started a few months ago to help local adults improve their reading skills, but is actually the second of two groups that has started offering classes locally within the last two years.

The Literacy Council of North Central Indiana expanded to include Elkhart County last year and offers “Skill Builders” classes that prepare people struggling with literacy for taking the general education diploma (GED) exam, according to Paula Lambo, executive director of the local council. Those classes are offered at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Elkhart.

The organization also offers one-to-one tutoring opportunities to help adults learn to read or improve their reading skills. The Literacy Council of North Central Indiana is a member of both ProLiteracy, a national literacy organization, and the Indiana Literacy Association.

The Skill Builders class, tutoring and English as a new language courses are free to anyone struggling with those skills, Lambo said.

To learn more about the Literacy Council of North Central Indiana and its literacy programs, call 335-9781 or visit www.ncinreads.org. The website also provides a way to refer an adult student and to sign up to become a volunteer.

The Literacy Council of North Central currently includes Elkhart, Marshall, Starke and St. Joseph counties.