Handbags for Hope Raises Over $40,000 for Literacy Network

The Literacy Network of Greater

Cincinnati (LNGC) hosted its

sixth annual Handbags for Hope

fundraiser on February 23rd at

the Cincinnati Club. With more

than 300 guests, the event raised

over $40,000 for Literacy

Network programs.

Literacy Network President

Michelle Otten Guenther stated,

“I am humbled and amazed at

the outpouring of generosity at

this event! There are numerous

worthwhile causes in need of

support, which is why I am

deeply appreciative that there are

so many wonderful people who

have chosen to spend their time

and resources in support of our

mission.”

Tim Goldrainer of The Menus

kicked off the program and

rallied the crowd for the live

auction. Guests raised their

paddles for brand new handbags

including: Louis Vuitton,

Bottega Veneta, Tory Burch and

many more.

The night also included a silent

auction that featured designer

handbags and Pack-a-Purse.

Many other raffles featuring

prizes from Macy’s and

Diamonds Rock returned to the

event including: It’s in the Bag,

Split-The-Purse, Major Award

and Abby Girl Sweets Reward

Raffle. New this year was the

Louis Vuitton Raffle, in which

one lucky person won a $990

Louis Vuitton handbag. Another

new raffle was the Golden Ticket

Raffle, where the winner could

choose any auction item.

The Wendell family was named

as the 2017 Honorary Chairs.

The Literacy Network has

created a special relationship

with the Wendell family. Since

Dan Wendell passed away, the

family has commemorated his

life by partnering with the

Literacy Network. The Wendells

hosted Dan’s 3-Putt for Literacy

in July, in which Dan’s two

passions, reading and golf, were

combined to create an event

benefiting the Literacy Network.

“Through the bonds that we have

formed with the Literacy

Network, we’ve had the

opportunity to keep one of Dan’s

primary passions alive. He was a

firm believer that the ability to

read opened all other doors in

life,” said Dan’s father, Steve

Wendell. “LNGC truly is an

organization in which the whole

is more than the sum of its parts.

Their successes don’t end with

each individual. Someone who

learns to read has the opportunity

to move up the educational

ladder, reach for the sky and

become a more productive

member of society.”

Big Dave, Chelsie and Statt from

B-105 awarded the 2017 Hope

Award to the Children’s Basic

Reading instructors at

Resurrection Catholic School.

Teachers Debbie Faillace, Shela

Brockmann, Jan Schaedle and

Janie McDonald have expanded

the program at Resurrection over

the past two years to reach every

student in kindergarten through

third grade. (Story continues on Page 2)

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THE LITERACY LINK

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Handbags for Hope guests show off their new handbags.

Left to right: Christy Meyer, Laura Fredrick and Katy Meinhardt

(Handbags for Hope continued)

The Literacy Network thanks event sponsors, guests

and volunteers who made the evening such a

success. Event sponsors include: Merrill Lynch:

Hambleton/Fieler Wealth Management Group,

Busam Nissan, Scripps Howard Foundation,

Graydon, Wycoff: Lucas-Raymond James, KMK

Law, Diamonds Rock, Katy Meinhardt, Mary

Meinhardt, Ken & Kathy Feldmann, The Cobb

Group, Learning Through Art, Macy’s, Mercy

Health (Dr. Robert Cranley), Platinum Marketing

Group, Prestige AV & Creative Services, Saks Fifth

Avenue, Seton High School/Kathy Ciarla, Seven

Hills Women’s Health Center, Zaring Family

Foundation, Tim & Shauna Goldrainer, Jeff & Lee

Rose, Josh & Melissa Gerth, Abby Girl Sweets

Cupcakery, B105.1 FM Cincinnati’s Country

Morning Show, Ken & Bette Zureick, Fox 19, Don

& Linda Capannari, Q102, Taft, Stettiunius &

Hollister, Doug & Michelle Guenther, Nick Hahn,

Andrew & Kim McDermott and Joseph-Beth

Booksellers.

For more information on how you can give the gift

of literacy to struggling adults and children in the

Greater Cincinnati area, call (513) 621-READ or

visit www.lngc.org.

Page 2 T H E L I T E R A C Y L I N K

Handbags for Hope guests bid on their favorite silent auction purses.

Resurrection teachers received the 2017 Hope Award. Left to right: Jan Schaedle, Debbie Faillace, Janie McDonald,

Guest Speaker Greg Forbes Siegman and Shela Brockman.

Guests check out Handbags for Hope raffles in support of literacy programs.

Literacy Network President Michelle Otten Guenther and the 2017 Honorary Chairs, the Wendell Family. Left to right: Kris

Sammons, Kasey Underwood, Michelle Otten Guenther, Emily Fosmire, Steve Wendell, Anne Wendell, Bonnie Otten,

Tom Otten, Maggie Hacquard and Libby Anderson.

Page 3 T H E L I T E R A C Y L I N K

Seton Wins 26th Annual Literacy Network Spelling Bee

The Literacy Network of Greater

Cincinnati raised over $8,000 for

literacy services at their 26th

Annual Spelling Bee for Literacy

on Thursday, April 27, 2017 at

the Holy Grail on the Banks.

Seton High School competed

against 12 other teams and walked

away with the title of “Best

Spellers in Cincinnati.”

Teams of three from local

businesses, organizations and

groups of friends participated in

the Bee. Each team was given a

word with one minute to work

together and spell it correctly.

Prizes were awarded to the first

place team, Seton High School,

the second place team,

International Association of

Business Communicators and the

most spirited team, sponsored by

Don and Linda Capannari.

The B-105 morning team (Big

Dave, Chelsie and Statt)

welcomed guests and emceed the

evening. Literacy Network tutor

John Scott kicked off the event by

singing the national anthem and

sharing his experience as a

volunteer at South Avondale. The

Cincinnati Reds even sent Mr.

Redlegs to help rally the teams.

Literacy Network President

Michelle Otten Guenther stated,

“I am deeply grateful to all those

who sponsored or attended this

year's Spelling Bee. This is a fun

way to support our literacy

services for adults & children.

The ability to read dramatically

improves the quality of life of an

individual and their family. Your

participation and support make

our community stronger!”

Sponsors included: Graydon Law

Firm, Katy Meinhardt, Ken and

Cathy Feldmann, Don and Linda

Capannari, LPK, International

Association of Business

Communicators, Northlich, Ohio

National Financial Services, John

and CeAnn Raterman, Mother

Teresa Catholic Elementary

School, Mid-American Financial

Group, Cincinnati Reds, Prestige

AV & Creative Services, Elder

High School, B-105, Great

American Insurance Group,

Fox19, The Holy Grail and Seton

High School.

The B-105 morning team with Mr. Redlegs and the Literacy Network’s Spelling Bee mascot.

Left to right: Chelsie, Big Dave, Mr. Redlegs, Madeline Fassett and Statt

Spelling Bee champions from Seton High School receive their prizes and

celebrate with B-105’s Morning Show: Big Dave, Chelsie and Statt.

Left to right: Chelsie, Eileen Heaney, Big-Dave, Gary Collins and Statt

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Jay Gohman works at American Financial

Group, Inc. His passion for Winners Walk Tall

(WWT) began when he built a relationship

with the Mauk family, who founded the

program.

Jay has been volunteering as a WWT coach for

22 years! He has spent the last 19 years

helping students in the Norwood School

district, where he is currently a coach for three

different third grade classrooms at

Norwood View Elementary School.

When the Literacy Network visited his

classes, everyone knew “Coach Gohman” and

were excited to have him there. The faculty

and staff at Norwood View only had wonderful

things to say about Jay, his work and

dedication to their students.

The students showed off their confidence and

manners in the classroom as Jay reviewed the

“make friends, but choose them wisely” lesson.

He shared with us that he loves when his older

students come up to him and shake his hand.

Jay knows the WWT lessons stand true and

make a difference in the students’ lives. We

are so thankful to Jay for his continued service

and we are thrilled to highlight him as an

outstanding WWT Coach! Thank you, Jay!

Neighbors Who Care: Jay Gohman

T H E L I T E R A C Y L I N K Page 4

*************************************************

Interested in tutoring children and/or adults?

Please visit our website to see training dates

and sign up for tutor training:

http://www.lngc.org and click “Volunteer.”

Page 5 T H E L I T E R A C Y L I N K

Literacy Network and Learning Through Art

Cincinnati Host Second Family Literacy Night

Through a partnership with

Learning Through Art Cincinnati

and Elder High School’s

Tech-Reach program, the Literacy

Network co-hosted their second

Family Literacy Night on

Thursday, May 4, 2017 at Elder’s

Schaeper Center.

Children and their parents were

invited to gather at Elder High

School for an evening of reading

with their families and arts and

crafts. The theme of the evening

was centered around jazz. Each

child received the book “The

Sound That Jazz Makes” by

Carole Boston Weatherford and a

backpack provided by Learning

Through Art Cincinnati with other

craft supplies. The craft of the

night included children making

pictures of jazz singers Ella

Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.

Kathy Wade, CEO of Learning

Through Art, also sang popular

jazz songs for the evening’s

entertainment.

The Literacy Network invited

families from the Price Hill area.

There were over 50 people in at-

tendance. The majority of the

crowd consisted of families from

Resurrection Catholic School and

St. William Elementary School,

where the Literacy Network holds

Children’s Basic Reading classes.

There were also guests from St.

Lawrence Elementary School and

Carson Elementary School.

Several employees from TriHealth

Young Professionals also

volunteered at the event.

The “Family Literacy Night was

such a fun-filled event, enjoyed

by all who attended,” Literacy

Network Basic Reading

Coordinator Liz Priestle stated.

“The smiles on the kid's faces

truly showed how excited they

were to be there with their

families. We were honored

Learning Through Art reached out

to us again to partner on this

wonderful night and thanks to

Tri-Health for sending all the

awesome volunteers!”

Children and their families from surrounding schools enjoy activities at Family Literacy Night.

Page 6 T H E L I T E R A C Y L I N K

Together We Can-- Literacy Network Partnerships!

In the last several months, we held numerous tutor

trainings and welcomed hundreds of new

wonderful tutors to the Literacy Network team

including: LaSalle High School, Children’s

Hospital (photo on left), Xavier University,

University of Cincinnati and Mount Saint

Joseph University.

One exciting and unique tutoring partnership is

with “Design in Mind,” a group of DAAP

students through the University of Cincinnati. This

group consisted of 56 college students, who are

working to incorporate the concept of art to help

students learn in different ways.

The Literacy Network was privileged to be selected as a

participant in the 2017 Brackets for Good contest. We

had a great time competing with other non-profits each

week to raise funding for our mission and advance to the

next round. Throughout the tournament, organizations

keep whatever donations they raise. The winner at the

end of the tournament wins an additional $10,000! We

made it through the first two rounds and were knocked

out in Round 3. Thanks to Brackets for Good and all of

our friends who supported us throughout the contest! We

hope to participate again! Follow us on Facebook for

updated information on next year’s contest.

Thanks to the wonderful, hospitable groups at the Eastern

Hills Exchange Club and the Kiwanis Club of Riverview–

Delhi Hills for inviting the Literacy Network to share our

mission with you. We had a great time getting to know both

groups and really appreciate your generous donations

toward literacy programs in our city. We look forward to

working with your groups on future projects!

Page 7 T H E L I T E R A C Y L I N K

Thanks to St. Veronica School for donating books

through their “Books for Belle” book drive during their

production of Beauty and the Beast! And special thanks to

Literacy Network Board Member Dave Heilmann for

coordinating the donation!

Special thanks to the staff, parents and students at

All Saints School for collecting 1,100 books at

their annual book drive and donating them to

students in the Literacy Network programs! What

better way to celebrate Read Across America Day

than collecting hundreds of books for fellow

students in the community!

The Other UC and Me: Editing the Sixties is about Judy

McCarty Kuhn's experiences as editor-in-chief of the

University of Cincinnati student newspaper during the

Vietnam conflict. The book is a combination of memoir and

history. Thanks to Judy Kuhn, who generously named the

Literacy Network as the beneficiary of her kindle sales for

the month of December!

Thanks to Morgan Hoffman, senior at Mount

Notre Dame High School, who did her

capstone project with the Literacy Network

this past year! Morgan did a great job working

on a few literacy projects for us and we really

appreciate all of her work. Good luck in all

you do, Morgan!

Page 8 T H E L I T E R A C Y L I N K

Literacy Programs in Action

Congratulations to one of our hard working adult

students, Sokhna Ndiaye, who completed a 10 week

culinary job training program with the Freestore

Foodbank, called Cincinnati Cooks! She was the only

student to get perfect attendance and she received an

outstanding performance award!

There is a second course she was invited to participate in,

but she told them that she wants to get better with her

reading first. Luckily, she was able to participate in both

at the same time. Sokhna embodies our mission at the

Literacy Network!

Everyone had a great time at our Children’s Basic

Reading Program holiday visits this year at:

Resurrection Catholic Elementary School, Sayler

Park, Evanston Academy, Sands Montessori and

Summit View Elementary.

We took some much-deserved time to celebrate all of

the students’ hard work with books, activities, special

treats and fun activities. Special thanks to

PricewaterhouseCoopers, Protective Life and Seton

High School for taking time out of your day to help

celebrate with the students, it meant so much to them!

T H E L I T E R A C Y L I N K Page 9

Thanks to Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Kroger Community Rewards and AmazonSmile

for donating a percentage of their sales to the Literacy Network! Every little bit helps

our students! For details on how to sign up for these programs, e-mail kim@lngc.org.

We are excited to share that Winton Hills

Academy Elementary School began our

Children’s Basic Reading Program this year! In

addition, Sands Montessori added a second class

to help more students at their school in need.

The Literacy Network offered a total of 14

Children’s Basic Reading Program classes in the

2016-2017 academic year, serving 169 students.

We are working hard to plan for next year’s

classes and are so grateful to all of those who

made these classes possible throughout the year!

Congratulations to our Children's Basic

Reading classes at Sayler Park Elementary

and Resurrection Catholic Elementary

School, who graduated the program after two

years of hard work! Great job!

The Literacy Network welcomed our Mount Saint Joseph

University Summer Intern, Nathan Hunter! In the fall of 2017,

Nathan will begin his final year of his undergraduate degree, working

toward a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management, with a

minor in Informatics. He is also beginning his fourth year of

collegiate baseball for the Mount. Nathan has experience at North

American Stainless as an accounting co-op and throughout the school

year he works as the Mount St. Joseph Intramural Sports Supervisor.

We are proud to have Nathan join our team!

We were also happy to welcome two instructors to the Literacy

Network team, Adult Basic Reading Instructor Donna Elsen and

Children’s Basic Reading Instructor McKenzie Monday!

Staff Updates

Dan’s 3-Putt for Literacy took place June 29,

2017 through July 1, 2017 at Clough Crossings

in Anderson Township, where a crowd of over

two hundred people came out to support the

Literacy Network. This year, the event raised

$5,150 for LNGC, raising a total of over

$9,000 the past two years.

The Wendell family has partnered with LNGC

over the past two years to commemorate Dan

Wendell’s life. Dan Wendell was a third grade

reading textbook editor at McGraw Hill in

Columbus. He was an avid reader and loved

golfing. After Dan’s sudden passing in February of

2015, his family wanted to find a meaningful

charity for memorial contributions. They came

across the Literacy Network and a special bond

was formed.

Dan’s dad, Steve Wendell, approached LNGC and

said they would like to create an annual event in

Dan’s honor that combined two of Dan’s passions,

golf and literacy, to benefit the Literacy Network.

The Literacy Network values this partnership so

much that they named the Wendell family the

Honorary Chairs at their 2017 Handbags for Hope

fundraiser.

At Handbags for Hope, Steve Wendell said, “Dan

was a firm believer that the ability to read opened

all other doors in life. It is truly our family’s honor

to be recognized for the small role we have played

to support such a wonderful organization and

noble cause.”

Literacy Network President Michelle Otten

Guenther shared, “We never had the opportunity

to meet Dan, but we feel like we have known him

through his remarkable family. Dan lived life to

the fullest and showed all of us it is not how long

your story is, but what you do with it while you

are lucky enough to have it that matters. It is such

a privilege to carry on Dan’s legacy and to share

his story.”

Special thanks to Clough Crossings for hosting the

event and the many event sponsors who helped

make the event a success.

Fund-raisers and Friend-raisers

Page 10 T H E L I T E R A C Y L I N K

The Literacy Network had a great

time working at the Taste of

Cincinnati! Thanks to all of our

volunteers who staffed the booth to

help raise tips for literacy and to the

Cincinnati Regional Chamber for

inviting us back this year!

Taste of Cincinnati

Dan’s 3 Putt for Literacy

The Wendell family gathers at Dan’s 3-Putt for Literacy. Left to right: Anne Wendell, Andy Wendell, Jenny Rush,

Trace Hacquard, Maggie Hacquard, Jeff Anderson, Libby Anderson, Emily Fosmire, Kasey Underwood,

Matt Underwood and Steve Wendell.

Thanks to Dewey's Pizza for naming the Literacy Network

as their DewMore recipient for the month of January. There

was a great turnout at all the Cincinnati and Northern

Kentucky locations. Special thanks to all the friends of the

Literacy Network for going out and eating some delicious

pizza for a great cause!

T H E L I T E R A C Y L I N K Page 11

Thanks so much to Board Member Josh

Gerth and his wife Melissa for having

their annual Flying Pig Party to benefit

Literacy Network programs! They

collected donations and books, and as

always everyone had a fantastic time!

Congratulations to all the walkers and

runners who participated in the race!

Gerth Flying Pig Party

DewMore

Madtree Brewing Charity of the Month

Special thanks to Madtree Brewing for selecting the

Literacy Network as their June charity of the month!

Throughout all of June, guests at Madtree had the

opportunity to “toss a buck for charity” to support our

literacy programs.

Their wonderful staff also invited us to host a happy

hour there on Tuesday, June 13th. Thanks to everyone

who came out to support this "Pints for a purpose"

event. What a fun atmosphere with great people that

support our mission to improve literacy in our city!

Upcoming Events

Thank you to all of the Literacy Network Board Members! Our staff, volunteers, students and

community are so grateful for your ongoing support of our mission. You are instrumental in making

the Literacy Network mission a reality and we want to express our appreciation to you:

Keith Armour Jim Gillespie

Robert Buechner Matthew Gutzwiller, Treasurer

John Busam Dave Heilmann

Harry Cappel Katy Meinhardt, Chair

Kathy Allen Ciarla Christy Meyer

Jeff Dattilo Jason Shorten

Ken Feldmann, Secretary Michelle Stechschulte

Mike Fieler Anne Zaring

Josh Gerth

Thank you to all of our corporate and foundation funders and our donors throughout the year!

Your support means the world to the adults and children in Cincinnati who struggle with basic literacy!

*The complete list of donors is published in our Annual Report*

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

A Year in Review: 2016

* Received 2,286 calls on our literacy hotline.

* Served 132 adults with 6 Adult Basic Reading classes.

* Placed 1,850 Winners Read tutors in 36 schools and 7 Boys and Girls Clubs.

* Held 14 Children’s Basic Reading classes for children with severe reading deficiencies.

* Had 176 active Winners Walk Tall character coaches in 40 schools, 7 Boys and

Girls Clubs and the Squash Academy.

T H E L I T E R A C Y L I N K Page 12

*Oktoberfest Beer Booth: September 15-17th, 2017

*Rhinegeist Charitable Suds Happy Hour: September 27th, 2017

*Handbags for Hope 2018: Save the Date! Thursday, February 8, 2018, Cincinnati Club

Click on the icons to “like” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter:

Please see this link for details on all of the Literacy Network’s upcoming special events: www.lngc.org.