Oceanside Library - Women’s Club Boosts Future Educator

Women’s Club Boosts Future Educator
Oceanside READS Newsletter: Fall 2012

“My goal in life is to become a university professor of English,” says Felipe Lagunes, 22, recipient of this year’s $500 award to a READS student from Oceanside Women’s Club.

Felipe, a 7 Eleven store employee, has been working with tutor Andrea Spolidoro since September, 2011.

He intends to use his award money to assist with college expenses; he began classes at MiraCosta College in August. “I honestly feel warm deep in my heart from all of the people who have taken time to help me out and reach my dreams,” he said. “I am really glad that I met Andrea and [READS Coordinator] Corrie Miles . . . They have been such important and helpful people who are willing to go with me through this.”

Felipe also gives his thanks to the Women’s Club, led by Maggie Owen, and the Oceanside Public Library.

Monterey Park Library - Walk 4 Literacy

Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library
LAMP
Walk 4 Literacy
October 20

Yes !

It’s that time of year once again when we all come together to walk for literacy and to raise funds for our literacy program - LAMP! Please plan on attending this annual walk and support our program by raising awareness of literacy needs in the community. Ask your friends and family to sponsor you or bring them with you the morning of October 20, 2012 at Barnes Park. Preregistrations will be taken in the LAMP Office. Register early to reserve your free t-shirt. For more information and to register, please call the LAMP office at (626) 307-1251.

Online donations are also be available.

Huntington Beach Library - Family Literacy’s Amy Crepeau is presented the July Mayor's Award

Family Literacy’s Amy Crepeau
is presented the July Mayor's Award
Huntington Beach Library

Amy Crepeau is in charge of the Huntington Beach Library’s Family Literacy Program. Amy and her small staff of part-time employees work with local community members who need to improve their English language skills.

These are parents and working people who need better reading, writing and conversational skills in order to help their children in school, communicate effectively with doctors and teachers, get better jobs, and ensure the health and security of their families. It’s a program that changes lives.

From her office at the library’s Oak View branch, Amy recruits and trains (and inspires!) volunteers who work with adult learners to acquire the English skills they need to become active and productive members of the community. Amy writes grants and seeks funding to keep the program alive, encourages both her tutors and her learners at every step, designs programs that meet the schedules and needs of her learners, and greets everyone in the program by name.

To form a closer bond and to communicate better with the families she serves, Amy took it on herself to learn Spanish. Within a very short time she was conducting programs in both languages. She started a bilingual story time for families where two languages are spoken, and hosts an annual awards event that recognizes the amazing accomplishments of both learners and their volunteer tutors.

To see Amy greeting children and embracing their parents, to see the excitement among those who reach their learning goals and to see the affection in which Amy is held by the community is to see the best in what libraries and literacy have to offer.

Redlands Library - Literacy advocate is featured speaker at Smiley

Literacy Changes Lives
Literacy advocate is featured speaker at Smiley
Redlands Daily Facts: 9.26.2012 by Ed Castro

REDLANDS - The Adult Literacy Program at the A.K. Smiley Library will reach out to potential students in a big way next month.

The event, hosted by Friends of the A.K. Smiley Public Library, will feature a presentation by John Zickefoose, who didn't learn to read until his 30s but worked his way through a literacy program and at one point led the adult literacy program in Corona.

The event will be held on Oct. 15 in the library's general assembly room.

"I think it certainly gives him a great deal of credibility among those who come in and ask for help," said Trudy Waldron, one of the library's volunteer Literacy Program Coordinators. "He is a genuine, warm person."

The hope is that Zickefoose's presentation will serve as motivation for those struggling with literacy issues.

Zickefoose managed to graduate from high school but it wasn't until he received requests for help from his young son that he finally decided to improve his literacy. Info: 909-798-7565, Ext. 4138. READ MORE !

LA Femme International Film Festival: A Passion for Literacy is Rekindled by the film Maestra!

LA Femme International Film Festival:
A Passion for Literacy is Rekindled by the film Maestra!
Hollywood Today: 10.09.2012 by Kathy Leonardo

Independent filmmaker Catherine Murphy has been on a mission. For the past six years she has been consumed with the issue of literacy. Meeting a group of Cuban women while in Havana during the 1990s opened a door to a new passion. Maestra, the film, was born out of a revelation. Compassion, strength, hope, dedication, and love were all traits that the nine women in this film had in common – which they credited in large part to participating in the Cuban Literacy Campaign of 1961.

.       .       .       .       .       .       .

Murphy is also the founder of a nonprofit organization known as The Literacy Project. “It was during the process of making this film that I started to research and learn about what a massive unsolved global problem literacy still is…including right here in the United States,” she adds. READ MORE !

Maestra will be screened at the LA Femme International Film Festival
Oct 13 @ Noon
Davidson/Valentini Theatre
1125 N McCadden Place LA 90038

Easy Voter Guide: November 6 Election

EASY VOTER GUIDE: Nov 6 Election

For new readers and busy voters.
Your nonpartisan quick guide to statewide elections since 1994. The Easy Voter Guide is available online (PDF) in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean.

Read about the Candidates and Propositions:
U.S. President
U.S. Senator
U.S. Representative
State Senator (for half of California)
State Assemblymember
Proposition 30 - Temporary Taxes to Fund Education
Proposition 31 - State Budget
Proposition 32 - Political Contributions by Payroll Deduction
Proposition 33 - Auto Insurance Companies
Proposition 34 - Death Penalty
Proposition 35 - Human Trafficking
Proposition 36 - Three Strikes Law
Proposition 37 - Genetically Engineered Foods
Proposition 38 - Tax to Fund Education and Early Childhood Programs
Proposition 39 - Tax Treatment for Multistate Businesses
Proposition 40 – Redistricting

The Easy Voter's Guide was started when a group of public library adult literacy students [ Bay Area New Readers Council ] felt that there was a lack of nonpartisan voter information accessible to adults still working on their reading skills.

Some of their innovations, job descriptions for each political office, have been adopted by the Secretary of State's official Voter Information Guide.

The nonpartisan “Easy Voter Guide” (formerly Easy Reading Voter Guide) has been published for every California statewide election since 1994.

It is a collaboration of:
~ League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
~ California State Library
~ Common Knowledge Group

Online Voter Registration – Deadline: October 22
California’s new online voter registration system has been launched!
Spread the word that it’s simple and easy to register or change your registration.

Centro Latino for Literacy - Manos Amigas/Helping Hands Graduation

Manos Amigas/Helping Hands
Centro Latino for Literacy
Graduation

On Friday, September 28th, joy and excitement were in the room as the 6th Manos Amigas/Helping Hands Celebration got under way.

This was a celebration of firsts!  This was the first time that:

- 155 adults completed either Leamos, Listos, or Leamos/Listos literacy courses. What a sense of accomplishment!
- Each student not only received a certificate of completion from Centro Latino, but also received a personalized City of Los Angeles Certificate for "their commitment to learn which inspires us all in the Latino community" signed by Councilmember Ed P. Reyes, 1st District.
- Manos Amigas graduation was held in Spanish, with simultaneous translation available for all the non-Spanish speakers in the room; and
- Manos Amigas was podcast live.

Memorable moments of the evening:
Inspiring oratory from Octavio A. Pescador, Ph.D., Keynote Speaker
Moving remarks by Councilmember Ed P. Reyes
Encouraging words from Melody Nava, Adult Literacy Champion
Loads of smiling faces and our gracious MC, Claudia Botero