The Reader - Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County Reader... · Jaeger & Flynn Associates The...
Transcript of The Reader - Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County Reader... · Jaeger & Flynn Associates The...
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Spring 2012
The Reader
Inside:
Bowl-a-Thon 2
EL Civics 3
Character Awards 3
Food, Friends, Fashion 4
Everybody Wins 5
Computer Literacy 5
Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer
County
1915 5th Ave. Troy, N.Y. 12180
(518) 274-8526
www.lvorc.org
On Sunday, May 6th, the Literacy Run/Walk raised more than $26,000 for Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County. These vital funds support literacy programs for adults and families in Rensselaer County. Thanks to our Run Committee: Caitlin Stein-Miner, Event Chair Cathy Watrobski Kim Margosian Erik Lehtinen Jim O’Connell Tom Hulihan Tom Bulger Dom Gieras Ridge McDonald Ron West Shay Harrison Daniela Squeglia Xiosyan Chen
And thanks to the many volunteers who made the event possible!
Please support our wonderful sponsors:
Literacy
Run/Walk
2012
Bowl-a-Thon
participants having fun
while raising much-
needed funds for adult
and family literacy
programs in our area.
Please join us in thanking everyone who made the event possible:
Sponsors:
CAP COM Federal Credit Union
Stewart’s Shops Jaeger & Flynn Associates The Record Gettysburg Flag Works Lane Sponsors: Allied Telcom Best Fire Hearth & Patio
DiCarlo's Auto Body Service Ctr. Don & Paul's Coffee Shop Gene's Fish Fry Committee Members:
Angela Fecko Kristin Morgan Raffle Donors:
AAA of the Hudson Valley Albany Aquaducks Anonymous Ausable Chasm Bob Daubney's CAP COM Federal Credit Union
Crossgates Mall DC Gymnastics The Egg Funplex Funpark The Glimmerglass Festival Hoffmann's Playland Holmes Engineering Aline Lawrenson LVORC Board of Directors The Music Studio National Baseball Hall of Fame Rensselaer County Home Bureau
Sam's Club Barbara Wyman
The Bowl-a-Thon at Uncle Sam Lanes, Troy, brought in a total of $5,000. These funds will support literacy programs for adults and kids in Rensselaer County.
Literacy Bowl-a-Thon a Big Success
On March 30th, the English Literacy
Civics class toured the State Capitol in
Albany. The class was able to see the
State Senate and Assembly in session
and to witness a vote as the Legislature
worked on the state budget.
Students in the English Literacy Civics
class learn about American systems
including government, education, and
public health. In addition to touring the
Capitol, students were able to visit the
State Museum and attended a job fair at
the Empire State Plaza.
English Literacy Civics Class Sees State Assembly in Action
Character Awards Recognize Literacy Volunteers
Left to right: Tom Hulihan, Sharon Domine, Barbara Wyman, and Marie Heller represented Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County at the Character Awards. Sharon Domine received her own Champion of Character Award as a student of the Sage Colleges.
Instructor, Linda Feldmann with Student, Zin Myo Lin, on
the Million Dollar Staircase in the State Capitol.
On April 3rd, Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County was honored at the Champions of Character Award Banquet, sponsored by the ACADEMY of CHARACTER EDUCATION at the Sage Colleges. Tom Hulihan, who serves as Director of Planning and Program Development for the Troy Housing Authority, presented the Community Organization Award to Barbara Wyman, Executive Director of Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County. The award recognizes the organization’s commitment to helping people improve their reading, math, English language and writing skills. Each of our volunteers and staff should feel proud: they made this award happen.
If you’re ready to become a U.S. Citizen and you need to prepare for the Naturalization Test, we can help. Volunteer Bob Knower has offered to teach a Citizenship Preparation
class in Troy this summer. Call the LVORC office at 274-8526 to schedule an appointment.
Food, Friends, and Fashion was the theme of the April 16th Student and Volunteer Dinner. The event was facilitated by Russell Sage College students enrolled in Women Changing the World, a course taught by tutor Sara Schuman. This semester the class partnered with Literacy Volunteers to serve as computer tutors, telephone partners, and Read With Me volunteers.
Volunteer Jean Holmes, above right, served as emcee of the fashion show. Jean helps with the Sewing and English Class and she made it possible for the learners to participate in this event. Thanks for all you do, Jean!
Students from the Sewing and English Class in Rensselaer brought their handmade goods and modeled traditional clothing from Burma. Pictured: Thi Da
A tutor wrote to say, “What a lovely evening.
My student and her family were so full of joy
when I dropped them off tonight. It was so
important for my student to see other folks
who are struggling to learn English. She loved
everything about the evening, the people,
the food, the little candy box favors on the
table, the idea to put conversation starters in
the little candy boxes, the pins for students
and tutors….and of course, the fashion
show.”
Food, Friends, and Fashion Friends
EVERYBODY WINS! (EW) That is the perfect name for our newest program, coordinated by volunteer Judy Smith. Volunteers from local businesses and colleges are matched with children at a close-by school. They read to their buddy once a week during the child’s lunch period. The business makes a donation to help support the program. A school coordinator notifies the volunteers if a child is absent, helps select appropriate books and makes sure everything runs smoothly.
Participating businesses win by helping the community and by showing their employees they care. Volunteers win, feeling satisfaction as their students learn and develop a love for books and reading. Schools win because children become excited about learning. Children win as caring adults show them they are special by reading to them each week.
Currently, EW takes place at schools in Troy and Albany, including School 14, Sacred Heart, Carroll Hill and Arbor Hill. Plans are in progress to start EW in School 2 (Troy) and Sheridan Prep (Albany) in September. Volunteers from Pitney Bowes, the RPI Lacrosse team, Aflac, Turner Construction, First Niagara, HVCC, Pi Beta Phi (an RPI Sorority), Key Bank, Canon and many community members are helping to ensure that EVERYBODY WINS! – Barbara Wyman
In March and April, fifteen adult learners participated in a Computer Literacy course. The course, developed by Literacy New York, offers learners the opportunity to work one-to-one with a tutor to develop computer skills at both the basic and advanced levels.
Learners met for four consecutive weeks at Russell Sage College. The tutors were undergraduate students enrolled in Women Changing the World. Each week, the pairs logged on to the learners’ individual accounts and worked through various learning plans. They followed step-by-step instructions on how to do internet research, send an email, and even how to build a resume and apply for a job online. It was a fun and fulfilling learning experience for everyone. At the end of the four-week course, many learners expressed an interest in continuing their computer usage and will continue working with their assigned tutor. This was a great success for all those involved! The on-line program continues to be available to any student/tutor pair, so if you’re interested, please call the office at 274-8526. – Katie Hayden
A special thanks to tutor Sara Schuman who teaches Women Changing the World at Russell Sage College. Sara initiated the partnership between her students and Literacy Volunteers, and her time and effort made all the difference.
1915 Fifth Avenue Troy, N.Y. 12180
PHONE:
(518) 274-8526
FAX: (518) 274-8610
E-MAIL:
We’re on the Web!
Visit us at:
www.lvorc.org
LITERACY VOLUNTEERS OF
RENSSELAER COUNTY
1915 FIFTH AVENUE
TROY NY 12180
Non-Profit Org.
US POSTAGE PAID
Permit No. 941 Albany, NY
12288
POST TESTING IS ESSENTIAL TO OUR SUCCESS
Many of you may already know that we have been busy with
the important task of post testing students. Students have been
asked to come to the office to take a post test, if needed. Not
all students will be contacted at this time.
If your student still needs to take an end-of-year test, please
encourage him or her to set up a time to come in. We truly
appreciate all of the hard work each of you does with your
student, and we want to be able to show the gains that have
been made.
SAVE THE DATE!
Authors’ Night
October 16, 2012
Pat’s Barn, Rensselaer Tech Park