With more than 7 million people unemployed in the nation and about 23,000 in the District, Washington Literacy Center is working to provide career opportunities through training and job placement.
The nonprofit organization held a graduation ceremony at R.I.S.E Demonstration Center on Sept. 30, celebrating 30 students who completed a five-week Learning Skills for Life bartending program that not only offered new skills, but allowed participants to build community and expand their network overall.
“We were strangers in the beginning and we kind of became a family towards the end of the program,” said graduate Rafanece Matthews, who learned about the program through an ad on craigslist. “I learned so much in the five weeks time frame, and then to be able to immediately apply the skills that I learned in my career was really what I was looking for.”
While Ikechukwu Tobechi is not new to bartending, participating in the program offered the ability to further her career.
“I have a twin and she had initially told me about the program and wanted me to apply because we were both bartenders,” Tobechi said. “I thought it would be good if I had my license since I was already bartending at the time.”
Each weekday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., students learned life skills, financial literacy and bartending training.
Employment for bartending is projected to grow 5 % from 2025 to 2035, faster than any average for all jobs according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bartending also brings a median wage of $16.51, and high earners reach more than $35, over double the average of service-entry jobs across the District. This program also comes at a time where 5.7 % of D.C. residents are unemployed as of August 2026.
“We are trying to boost our students’ educational outcomes and this is open to anyone in the city,” said Jimmie Williams, president and CEO of the Washington Literacy Center.
‘We’re Still Here, We’re Still Surviving‘
Since its founding in 1963 Washington Literacy Center has worked to increase literacy education, and the bartending training was part of the organization’s workforce programs.
“We have many programs, but this is one of our workforce programs, and we’re focusing on all things literacy,” Williams said. “We try to boost our students’ educational outcomes, and this is open to anyone in the city. Anyone, even outside of the city.”
Being able to provide such programming like Learning Skills for Life is a critical part of the organization’s work and mission. However, a couple years ago, Williams didn’t know if Washington Literacy Center would be able to continue its work of offering free educational programs.
Approximately two years ago the center lost $260,000 within a six day notice.
“We really had to figure out how to operate together again, and that’s what we did,” Williams said during a speech to the graduates. “We pivoted. We’re still here, we’re still surviving.”
However in late June, 2026, the D.C. council authorized $1.4 million to the center through the Fiscal 2027 Budget Support Act. The funding comes at a time where 22%of adults in D.C. have difficulty with basic literacy tasks according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
“It frustrates me that a lot of people don’t have the skills, I feel like it’s intentional because of the lack of investment into special education here in the District of Columbia,” said former ANC Commissioner, Patricia Stamper.
Dr. Terrell Danley, director of programs for the center, said Learning Skills for Life continues the organization’s goals of working to provide access and opportunity to students facing various barriers toward furthering their education.
“Many of us are still living with identities about things that people have talked about us before, and are we ready to move beyond what people have said about us before,” Danley told The Informer. “We actually have to take a look at some of those things and actually confront them, walk through them as they realize that they’re stepping into a new identity.”
Jhanazia Patrick, who is now taking baking and pastry classes, was inspired to take the program after having already completed chef studies courses.
“I wanted to do bartending so that I can tie everything together and eventually have my own event,” Patrick said. “It wasn’t just about learning about drinks and stuff like that. They actually geared us towards learning more about ourselves and how to deal with the community.”
Plus, the students learn more than about the craft of bartending. Tyeshia Burton, who has taught with the program for nine years, explained participants also get critical lessons about handling money.
“Learning financial literacy is literally going to change their lives,” Burton told The Informer before referencing some of the students, “but to see it with someone who you know is a single mom with three kids and she can’t work in the daytime — she can only pull a few shifts in the evening — it’s demonstrative.”
After having taught in the program for nine years, Burton said the students, like the late Cheyenne Henderson, truly inspire one another. As a student at Washington Literacy Center, and post her time there, Henderson worked to make a huge difference in her own life and others.
“Cheyenne was working two jobs and everything else, but she still had time to bring up a bright personality,” Williams said, honoring the former student during the ceremony. “When we had students and some of our students go south because of life pressures, Cheyenne was the one that would come in and teach them how to go up, and how to go north.”
While Henderson died in May, Washington Literacy Center is working to keep her legacy alive. In her honor, the center created the Student Leader and Inspiration award to recognize other students who exemplify her qualities.
“She encouraged a lot of the other students that were there saying ‘hey, I don’t want to come tomorrow,’ Cheyenne would always say ‘you gotta come you know Mr. Jimmy always say, you cannot miss not one day,’” said Cheyenne’s aunt, Towana Banks.
As the organization works to remember Henderson and uplift people across the District through literacy and learning opportunities, Williams said the organization is always looking to see the success of their students.
“We’re still teaching valuable workforce skills. We’re still changing lives, and I think we have a lot of people here that will tell you that,” Williams said.
