By
Board of Directors
President
Nancy Balog
We Made Them Smile!
Pro-Literacy Detroit was well represented for the second time at this year’s Festival of the Arts in September. We had a booth where we gave away children’s books and had the opportunity to recruit tutors and learners, and spread the word about Pro-Literacy Detroit and what we do. The parents and children really appreciated the free books. They thanked us with their smiles.
We attracted attention by wearing Cat in the Hat hats and colorful t-shirts. We read books out loud to small groups of children and they enjoyed interacting with the readers and stories. We talked about how much fun reading is and encouraged parents to take advantage of the many activities provided by our public library system. We are already planning for next year’s Festival and would welcome donations of children’s books throughout the year.
Pro-Literacy Detroit Speakers’ Bureau members and staff volunteered for the Festival and had great fun. We are also available to speak and spread the Pro-Literacy Detroit word at any venue and would welcome speaking opportunities. The Pro-Literacy Detroit word is worth SHOUTING about!
By Jane Strand
Pro-Literacy Detroit Speaker’s Bureau
As 2003 draws to a close, and on behalf of the Board of Directors, we want to thank all Pro-Literacy Detroit tutors, learners, all our other volunteers and staff for another exceptional year in the name of literacy.
We continued to recruit and train tutor volunteers to meet the needs of learners, both in one-to-one tutoring and small group sessions. We greatly expanded our community partnerships, training tutors to work with learners in their organizations.
In August, the well-attended Scrabble Event drew very positive attention and visibility to all our literacy efforts.
Our plan to form a coalition with literacy organizations in Oakland and Macomb counties continues on track. In the communities we service, this coalition will give us a louder voice to bring awareness to the public about the issue of literacy and we hope for it to serve as an effective recruiting tool for both tutors and learners.
Recently, several Pro-Literacy Detroit's staff, tutors, learners and Board members had an opportunity to attend a national conference in Washington, D.C. Each participant brought back ideas we will review to incorporate into our own program. And we were very pleased to be asked to share details of the great work that Pro-Literacy Detroit is doing. So our successes are now known beyond Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park. The point is, if our methods work for another literacy organization, we feel a part of their effort to assist their participants in becoming more literate. There will be more reporting from participants in the conference in the future.
As we enter 2004, we look forward to celebrating 20 years of service to our three cities. Some of you have been affiliated with Pro-Literacy Detroit for several years, some for a few years. Whatever your “length of service”, we on the Board hope you will continue to be a part of Pro-Literacy Detroit for as many years as it take us to achieve our goal of a more literate adult community.
Thank you all again for your commitment and dedication and have a wonderful 2004
children's books at the Festival of Arts.
