We have wonderful talent at the Literacy Council. Jae Sherwood has created a website to showcase her writing. Please check it out and let her know your thoughts. If you enjoy what you read, check back often, because she will be adding new poems, essays, and blog postings as well as responding to emails, etc.
Jae is a former Literacy Council tutor and played a major role in the creation of our first database, along with Hank Zimmerman and Christine Harrison.
Literacy Council tutors Mary Austin and Evelyn Rubel
Evelyn Rubel and Mary Austin are true unsung heroes, faithfully changing lives of inmates at the Ordnance Correctional Center (ORCC) through their literacy tutoring. Evelyn, a former elementary school teacher for 30 years, has been tutoring at Ordnance for the past 15 years. Mary has tutored at Ordnance for 11 years and has also tutored several Special Needs students during that time.
At Ordnance, Mary and Evelyn have worked with inmates from 16 to 83 years of age and have found that the Laubach phonics program has enabled many of them to improve their reading skills. They have cherished the notes and comments of students who have appreciated what we have done for them and have found their tutoring experiences to be very rewarding.
Hattie McCullers and tutor Bonnie Wright
Hattie McCullers first learned about the Literacy Program when she saw an ad in the Capital, and she carried it with her until she had the opportunity to call. I am glad she did!
Hattie was born in South Carolina, the third in line of five girls and six boys. She said life growing up was a combination of work and fun – and lots of babysitting. Understandably, family is everything to her. Hattie and her husband, George, have one son and daughter, and four grandchildren. Her family is very supportive of her lessons.
Hattie with granddaughter Natalie
Hattie told me that her literacy goals are”to understand everything I read” and “to spell any word at the drop of a hat.” She would like to write a children’s book and has been working on a project to create a book of family history for her granddaughter Natalie, who was born in March. There is a lot of heart in it.
Hattie is a pleasure to work with. She is always cheerful and prepared. Assessed at Laubach 4, she is excelling in her reading, and doing well in spelling. Hattie is conscientious about doing her homework, which any tutor will tell you is a blessing. She feels that being in this program has helped her come closer to her goals of learning to express herself in writing and improving her spelling. Most importantly, her self-confidence has really grown. Her whole demeanor shows it, and I am very proud of her.
Bonnie Wright
Koons Toyota General Manager Wendel Williams presents
Literacy Council Director Lisa Vernon
with a $5,000 donation.
Koons Toyota Annapolis donated $5,000 to the Anne Arundel County Literacy Council as part of their “Koons 25 Days of Giving” in December. Please stop by their beautiful new showroom at 1107 West St. in Annapolis to thank them for their generous support for our adult and out-of-school youth literacy program.
Exciting news!
Beginning in February, 4 Naval Academy Midshipman will be providing free math tutoring for our students on Saturday mornings from 10 am to noon at Bloomsbury Square in Annapolis. This will be a great opportunity for our pre GED students to receive help in math from the Midshipmen. Tutors please share this opportunity with your students and encourage them to attend.
Giving Tuesday A Huge Success!
In other news, the Literacy Council won $2,000 in prizes from AACares on Giving Tuesday and raised a total of $7,425. Out of 29,484 organizations participating in Giving Tuesday throughout the country we placed 49th on their list of Top Nonprofit Organizations. Thank you for your amazing generosity and support for our free adult and out-of-school youth literacy program!
Warmest regards,
Lisa Vernon
Executive Director
Anne Arundel County Literacy Council
301-523-6750
Annapolis Youth HealthWorks
In January 2015, the Literacy Council will be partnering with Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation (AAWDC), Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC), the Partnership for Youth, Children, and Families, the Housing Authority City of Annapolis (HACA), and the Community Restoration Project to help 30 low-income youth between the ages of 17 and 21 who have dropped out of school.
Free one-on-one literacy and math tutoring will be provided for these out-of-school youth. If you would like to tutor one of these youth in math and/or literacy please email director@aaclc.org.
A team approach will be used to serve these youth through assessment, case management, and training so they can find employment in the healthcare industry (a regional high-growth industry). The Literacy Council will be tracking academic improvements in literacy and math, along with their attainment of employment, certification, and/or placement into Anne Arundel Community College’s GED program.
Dr. Carol Tacket has been appointed Vice President of our Literacy Council’s Executive Board. Carol is a strong supporter of the Literacy Council and has tutored three students over the past two years. She is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Maryland. Dr. Tacket’s primary research interest has been in conducting phase 1 and phase 2 studies of candidate vaccines against enteric infections. Dr. Tacket has authored or co-authored more than 100 research papers and book chapters on infectious disease topics.
“The thing that lies at the foundation of positive change, the way I see it, is service to a fellow human being.”
~ Lee Iacocca
Thirty-six talented volunteers completed our two-day tutor training on October 11th and 18th. Trainers Deborah Stoeckle, Jill Mischo and Al Odierno were assisted by tutors Maggy Cullman, Harry DeLong, Suzy Ochs, Susan Shillmann, and Cindy Toft. Tremendous thanks goes to our trainers and tutors for their dedication of time and talents, and to Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church for graciously hosting our tutor training.
