NWI Literacy and GED Program

NWI Literacy and GED Program

NLD ID #95529
NWI Literacy and GED Program logo

Contact Information

510 W. Ottawa St.
2nd Floor
LANSING, MI 48933

Primary Contact

Peggy Vaughn-Payne

(517) 999-2894

peggy@nwlansing.org

Hours of Operation

Monday-Friday; 8am-4pm

Get Directions

Program Overview

NorthWest Initiative is a nonprofit community development organization who has been working to improve the overall health of the community and the quality of life for low income residents living within our four zip codes since May 2000. In 2015, we relocated our offices to the second floor of the huge First Presbyterian Church building located at the corner of Ottawa & Pine Streets just north and west of downtown Lansing. For the past eighteen years, we have provided a variety of emergency and basic needs services to help lift our residents out of poverty. For the past five years, in collaboration with the Ingham County Courts, we have been offering an Adult Diversion Program where individuals are court-ordered to attend for a total of 12 weeks for 12-15 hours per week. The individuals participate in a series of classes and workshops on a variety of topics designed to help them get their lives back on a positive track before they go back before the Judge. Specifically, the NWI Literacy & GED Program is one of those classes that is designed for those clients who did not graduate from high school. We work with people of all ages, on an individual basis to help them to learn how to read, write, and comprehend basic math skills so that they can become proficient to pass the State of Michigan's four subject area tests to obtain their GED Certificate. Over the past five years, we have grown considerably and have served over 400 clients through our Literacy & GED Program.

program image 1

Cost Info

The cost for literacy tutoring is free. All books and materials are free. For our GED (High School Completion Program) testing, we pay the costs for the first test in each subject area (subject to grant funding). If the client fails the test, they are responsible for paying for the second test in the same subject area. We do not encourage students to take a test until the Tutor (retired teacher) feels the student is ready.

Student and Volunteer Success Stories


This program listing was last updated: February 15, 2021.

All information has been provided by this organization. Do you see outdated information? Please contact NLD Support.

Education services

  • Read and write better
  • Study for my high school equivalency exam
  • Learn English
  • Improve my math skills

Instruction Type

  • In-person
  • Online