Poems for Book Lovers

Allison sent me this excellent link, titled 12 Beautiful Poems for Book Lovers. It’s just the thing for a  gray, chilly Monday. So, if you are lucky enough to have the luxury, curl up on your couch, make some tea, and sit with these poems for a few minutes. (Just don’t spill the tea on your computer… we can have a discussion about reading on electronic devices later.)

Which one is your favorite? I’m partial to Robert Louis Stevenson myself, although “Book Lover” by Robert William Service rings true.

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Innovation, the key to success

At Turning Pages, we run a lean — but not mean – adult literacy tutoring program. We have limited funds and are limited in many other resources. We don’t hire professional fund raisers. Whatever funds we attract, we have to do it.

That’s OK. It forces us to be innovative and frugal with our limited resources. An IBM study found that innovative organizations succeed.

Those which just do what they’ve always done soon run out of steam. We are committed to innovate and think creatively about how we can achieve our purpose.

That purpose is a well-educated citizenry that can meet the challenges of today’s work world. Our board serves without financial compensation. We serve because we believe in our cause.

Our tutors are all volunteers. They give three or more hours a week because it is a calling.

Our fundraising comes primarily from two sources:

• Donations from people who believe in the purpose we serve.
• Fun events that our supporters can enjoy and contribute to our program.

For example, we sponsored a comedy night at the Clarion Hotel this year that was successful. Our two wine dinners in Lexington helped us meet a $3,000 Rotary Foundation challenge grant. We plan more such events in the year ahead and will let you know how you can participate with us.

We are grateful for your support as a tutor and donor. We hope you will consider a tax-deductible donation to Turning Pages before Dec. 31. That way, you will be able to deduct your donation against your 2013 income in your tax filing.

We wish you all the best for this wonderful holiday season. Thank you for your support.

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Holiday Bazaar to Benefit Local Nonprofits

Friends, I’m happy to announce that we are receiving some support from Trinity Episcopal. They have chosen us as a beneficiary of their Holiday Bazaar. Please come support the Bazaar on Saturday November 9th from 10 to 2 PM at 1100 Sumter Street. There will be family activities and games, delicious food, AND you can get a jump on your shopping lists while supporting several local charities and nonprofits. Hope to see you there

Board Member Interview: Allison

Editor’s note: Today is the first in a series of Q&As to help you get to know our board! We are starting off with Allison Matthews, who has been with us for a little over a year now.

What brought you to Turning Pages?

I come from a family of educators, and in high school, I became especially interested in helping people learn to read. I left Columbia for college, then started a career as an elementary-school teacher. When I moved back to Columbia, I wanted to find a place to volunteer during my summers off. I decided to look for a place that works with adult learners, and, voila! I found Turning Pages.

How long have you been working with your learner?

Ms. G. and I have been working together since June 2012.

What is one of your best “success” moments in working with Ms. G?

When we first started working together, Ms. G would often read through a paragraph quickly, making several errors that affected the meaning of the text, and just move on without understanding what she had read. I brought this to her attention and taught her the strategy of stopping after each paragraph to tell what she learned in her own words. Now, I’ve started noticing that she stops herself to summarize even without me reminding her.

Tell us about a challenge and how you negotiated it.

An ongoing challenge with tutoring is finding the best instructional methods and texts for Ms. G. She has some very distinct strengths as a reader, along with some significant challenges. I’m constantly having to adjust my approach to find what’s most effective.

As a board member, the main challenge is feeling overwhelmed by all the work we’d like to do to improve the services we offer our learners. I think we as a team have gotten a lot better about prioritizing what needs to be done, then dividing the labor so we can knock it all out. It’s an exciting time.

What is your favorite thing about Turning Pages?

It’s definitely the people! Ms. G. and I have built a great friendship. I enjoy working with and learning from my fellow board members, all of whom are passionate about adult literacy. And every volunteer I have gotten to meet is so dedicated and kind. It’s just so encouraging to be a part of this organization.

What do you do when you’re not volunteering with Turning Pages?

Try to make myself useful! I believe it’s very important to be active as a Christian and church member, so that’s a big part of my life. I teach fourth grade Language Arts and Social Studies, so that’s another sizeable chunk, for sure. Other than that– I dabble in music, writing, and the (very) occasional jog!

Are you reading anything good lately?

The book of Isaiah and Time Magazine.

What is your favorite book now? From childhood?

Oh, man. There are so many good ones out there. But my all-time favorite is still Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth. I mean, it’s got adventure, solid character development, humor, important life lessons, and an astounding number of puns. What more could you really ask for in a book?

If you could have lunch with one author, living or dead, who would it be?

If I wanted to enjoy my lunch and learn something, it would be C.S. Lewis. He offers so much wisdom through his writing– and humor, too.

If I wanted to tell someone off while eating lunch, it would be Ernest Hemingway. I would encourage him to be a less terrible human being and to occasionally try writing longer sentences.

If you had to choose between visiting Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, or Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, which would it be?

One of the most important questions in life. Both would be cool, but I would go to Hogwarts. If I went to the factory, I would probably fall into the chocolate lake and get stuck in the pipe just like Augustus Gloop.

Giving is Good For Your Brain

Editor’s note: Today’s post comes from frequent blog contributor and board member, Jerry Bellune.

My father used to tell me that I had no idea how much he enjoyed giving to his children. Being young and the recipient of his generosity, I only understood how pleasant it was to be on the receiving end. Now that my wife and I have children of our own, I can appreciate his sentiment.  Giving is a wonderful act of sharing one’s good fortune with others.

That’s why it is such a pleasure for so many of us to contribute to a cause as fine as literacy tutoring for adults. They, as is commonly said, slipped through the cracks of our fine educational system. This is not a failure of educators. It is a result of our limited understanding of the learning difficulties many less fortunate face in mastering the skills most of us take for granted.

Many who donate to Turning Pages do so for good reason. Such altruism does not go unrewarded. Altruism can be immensely fulfilling, Robert Sapolsky wrote in the Wall Street Journal a few days ago. Neuro-imaging studies show that altruistic acts activate reward centers of the brain.  Anonymous altruism, with its glow from doing good by our internal standards, has its own personal rewards. And by being anonymous, givers need not fear they will become the targets of every fund-raiser in their community. If you prefer to remain anonymous, rest assured we will protect your privacy.

We need contributions to keep our program going and our tutors teaching our learners to deal with an increasingly complex world. This is not limited to reading and writing skills. They learn work and life skills important to survival and their ability to earn adequate incomes to support their families.

It’s easy to give to Turning Pages. Just click on the donate button to the left of this message and it will show you what to do. Thank you for joining us in this great cause to help others to a fuller, more rewarding life.

Image via Penn State

Really Listening

Editor’s note: Today’s post comes from tutor and board member, Allison Matthews. Thanks for sharing your perspective, Allison!

When I was working with my learner today, we did a quick exercise to call attention to the letter S at the ends of words. Ms. G. tends to drop off endings like –s, -ed, and –ing when she speaks, and so naturally, she does the same thing when she reads. It’s not always a huge deal, but I’ve told her that sometimes, an ending can make a big difference in the way you understand a word. She performed the exercise beautifully and stretched out all the S’s she found.

“Yeah, I know I never say my endings,” she told me afterward. “When I was a kid, I used to talk and read real fast so no one could understand what I was saying.”

“You didn’t want people to notice you making mistakes?” I asked.

“Yeah, that’s it!”

“So, did anyone ever stop you and slow you down, or did you just slide by?”

“They just let me slide right by!”

This exchange with Ms. G. amazed me. First, I was impressed that even as a child, she was developing effective strategies for hiding her reading troubles from her teachers. She may have been labeled with a variety of disorders over the years, but Ms. G. is one smart cookie!

But I was saddened, too, that—as far as I know—no one took the time to slow this little girl down and really listen. To tell her that it was okay to make mistakes. To help her with the words she wasn’t sure about. To teach her that her thoughts are important enough to be heard.

These days, Ms. G. is learning to take her time and communicate her ideas with others through her work at Turning Pages. Let’s look around for other children, teens, and adults who are sliding by and take the time to really listen.

Photo credit: Paul Sableman

Evening in Italy raises money for adult literacy

Sixty-two community leaders came together last week to support a cause — adult literacy.

It is the purpose of Turning Pages to teach illiterate adults reading, writing, math and other life skills.

They invested $100 a couple for a five course gourmet wine dinner at Lexington’s Main Street Cafe.

The cafe’s owner, George Trifos, and Palmetto Wine & Spirts owner Sandi Patel hosted the event, the second in a series of dinners.

The West Metro Rotary Club sponsored the fund-raising event with Lexington Young Professionals, AGGAdvisors, Mirror Associates, Pine Press Printing and the Lexington County Chronicle and Lake Murray Fish Wrapper.

A third dinner in the series is planned soon but no date has been selected. Proceeds from the dinner will go to match a $3,000 Rotary Foundation grant.

Photo via Oabe

A Strategic Plan to Guide Us

The Turning Pages board has been working on a strategic plan to help us focus more effectively on our vision, mission and values. We had a great session last month with Charles Weathers, and some follow-up board sessions to work on the “homework” he has given us.

 Our Vision is that, as a result of our work tutoring adults who need to learn to read and write, that they will have the literacy skills to participate productively at home, at work and in our community.

Our Mission:  We help adults in the Midlands read and write better to improve their incomes and lives.

That’s a tall order we realize, and with it we embrace a set of values. These values represent our core principles and beliefs. They are not negotiable and will not be compromised during the achievement of our mission. We believe in:

• Accountability:  We are committed to establishing and enforcing expectations, being transparent and respecting legal, ethical and moral standards. We recognize that we are stewards of others’ resources.  We will make decisions with prudence to ensure we safeguard resources and assets in our care.
• Learner-Centered Focus: Our efforts will be focused on the needs of the Learner. One size does not fit all. We will strive to “help people where they are.”
•  Trust: Trust implies confidence.  We work to foster healthy relationships.  We understand the importance of credibility. We will demonstrate the character and competency required to maintain and strengthen our credibility.
• Accessibility: Services will be available to those who have a desire to attain them.  We believe our services should be within the reach of those with the greatest need.  Lack of income will not be a barrier to literacy.
• Positive Energy: We will accentuate the positive, make the best out of bad situations, and encourage healthy communication.

We hope this gives you a fuller understanding of what we’re about. We will discuss more about our strategic plan in future blogs.

Photo credit: David McKelvey

Library Love

Editor’s note: Today’s post comes from former employee and current board member Genevieve Ray Lyons.

Yesterday on my lunch break, I walked over to the Richland Library to check out a book for my book club, and I saw a Turning Pages flyer on the reference librarian’s desk! Fantastic. The libraries in Richland County (Lexington, too, for that matter) have always been pretty supportive of the work we do.  Did you know there are dedicated tutoring rooms available? That way a learner and tutor can meet in public, at the library, with access to thousands of books and magazines, yet still have a little privacy.

Once I went to the St. Andrew’s branch to introduce a new learner and tutor. I began eyeing the little study room and walked in that direction. Next thing I know,  a librarian was kindly but firmly telling me that, “Sorry, ma’am, those rooms are reserved for literacy tutoring.” I told her, that’s great because that’s exactly what we are here for! I learned that several of the libraries have these spaces, and some prefer that you make a reservation in advance, while others just ask that you give the librarian a heads-up when you arrive.

Here’s a few library images to inspire you:

The gorgeous University of Michigan Law Library:

The donor who funded the law school stipulated that any additions or expansions must be in the original architectural style. So when they expanded the law library, they built it underground. Slanted glass windows allow some natural light inside, but I love how it looks on a frozen Ann Arbor night.

The James J. Hill library in St. Paul, Minnesota:

And this cozy little library in the Hermitage of St. Bernadine, New South Wales.

Image credits: first,  second, third. Thanks to everyone who shares their photos under a creative commons license.

This could be you.

I am just ‘Reading between the wines…’ but it seems like these people are having a great time, while supporting adult literacy.

Join us September 12 at 6PM for the next Turning Pages wine dinner fundraiser.