Minnie Mae Robinson grew up on a farm in Alabama during the Great Depression. There were eleven of us in one house Minnie Mae said. "At the time, you had to pay ten dollars for every child to go to school. Then there was food, clothing, shoes; plus we had to buy books. It was hard."

Minnie Mae was 69 years old when she decided to learn to read. "My friend asked me did I want to go back to school, and I said yes. I meant it from my heart. But I got afraid. Then one day I got my shoes, I put them on. I got my hat, I put it on. And I went down and signed up.

Minnie Mae began working with the GROWS Literacy Council in Apopka, Florida. Before, I would feel like I couldn't sit and talk to you. I'd be blundering, I’d forget, I'd be sweating, there'd be roaring in my ears," she recalls, "But when I started to go to school, it was like a shell broke loose and fell off. After a while, at my program they told me we were going to have a big commencement and we want you to speak. I said, I can't. They said, sure you can. I was weak, I was sweaty; but nobody knew I was afraid. I wrote that speech I don't know how many times. But when I walked up there I left my speech lying on the seat. And I just told the truth from my heart.

"Tutors aren't doing their work because students are dumb. They're doing it because the students are not dumb, they just need help. The tutors do it for love.I thank God for my tutors and the many people that were behind me one hundred percent!" said Minnie Mae.