We LOVE Our Volunteers!

ALL 055 Summer 09 Newsletter:Layout 1 7/16/09 1:46 PM Page 1
We LOVE Our Volunteers!
Disney Cruise Line sponsored
ALL’s festive Volunteer Appreciation
Reception. Scott and Erica from Mix
105.1 entertained the audience and
were honored for their 10 years of
volunteer service to ALL.
Special thanks to these donors who
also made the event possible: ABC
Fine Wines & Spirits, Disney Cruise
Line, Goldner Associates,
McDonald’s Restaurants, Yolonda
Huhn, Sharon Hartman, Bill and
Lisa Warren, Chris and Joyce
Whidden and Walt Disney World.
Sold-out Event Raises Funds for Literacy Tutoring
I
ADULT LITERACY LEAGUE ’09 BOARD OF DIRECTORS4
Heidi Bedell, Starwood Vacation Ownership
Mick Lochridge, Winter Park Magazine
Sean Christiansen, Ph.D., University of Central Florida
Rick Caron, Esq., Foley & Lardner, PA
Vice President
Christi Erwin Donnan, Disney Cruise Line
S. Brendan Lynch, Esq., Lowndes, Drosdick,
Doster, Kantor & Reed
Teresa Kolb, KPMG, LLP
Suzanne Eustache, ALL Student
Maureen McGinty, Southwest Aquatic Center
Treasurer
Leslie Golden, Esq., Barry University
Nadime Nader, OUC – The Reliable One
Ken Kosloski, Kuykendall Gardner
Diana Hurt, Osceola Library System
Mary Ng, Darden Restaurants
Secretary
Mari Jones, Rollins College MBA Candidate
Marcos Rubert, CNL Bank
Debra Touchton, Ph.D., Stetson University
Jessica Kepple, Fifth Third Bank
Ken Withrow, Restaurant Consultant
n describing
Reading
between the
Wines, the
Orlando Sentinel
called it “the
Adult Literacy
League’s erudite
and epicurean
fundraiser where
the wine and
food tasting are the flavorful
appetizers before the main course:
a presentation, Q&A and book
signing with NY Times’ best-selling
author Michael Connelly and
Florida mystery-writer, Bob Morris.”
The two highly acclaimed authors
drew a sold-out audience at the
beautifully redecorated ballroom at the
Orlando Marriott Downtown on April
23, 2009. Guests enjoyed delicious
food from Houlihans, Tijuana Flats,
Shin Japanese Restaurant and Season’s
Harvest Catering. More than seven
distinctive wineries offered an array of
reds and whites to sample. And the
bidding was fierce on more than 115
terrific auction items generously
donated to the event.
The event raised nearly $55,000 for
the important cause of literacy in
Funded in part by
An accredited
affiliate of
A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR ORGANIZATION #SC-01925 MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF
CONSUMER AFFAIRS BY CALLING TOLL FREE WITHIN THE STATE 1-800-435-8472. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR
RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. NO OUTSIDE INDIVIDUAL OR FIRM HAS BEEN HIRED TO SOLICIT FUNDS ON BEHALF OF THIS ORGANIZATION.
100% OF CHARITABLE GIFTS ARE RETAINED BY THIS ORGANIZATION.
Phone: 407.422.1540
Fax: 407.422.1529
E-mail: [email protected]
www.adultliteracyleague.org
345 W. Michigan Street, Suite 100
Orlando, FL 32806
The Adult Literacy League, Inc.
develops readers to build a
strong and literate community
Summer ’09
Expand Your World . . . One Page At A Time.
Reading between the Wines
Photos: Top Right – Four volunteers logged more than 200 hours of service: Sharon
Jallad, Milton Mersinger, Dug Duggan and Sharon Hartman. Bottom Right –
Volunteers from Chase Card Services give plenty of time to ALL. Bottom Left – JR
“Dug” Duggan takes on Caralyn Bess in an impromptu game of “Fact or Fiction”
hosted by Scott McKenzie of Mix 105.1.
President
BETWEEN LINES
THE
W
hen your organization
depends on the
commitment of more
than 500 volunteers to deliver your
services, your volunteers are the most
important asset you have.
So around Valentine’s Day, when
everyone else was extolling their love
to their significant others, we were
extolling our love to our enthusiastic
and dedicated volunteers.
Last year, we recorded 15,000
hours of instructional time given by
volunteers and another 5,000 hours
of general support by volunteers
working in the office, on committees
and at events. That’s about $375,000
worth of support!
Special Thanks to These Sponsors:
NONPROFIT
ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
ORLANDO FL
PERMIT #3904
Accredited Surety & Casualty
M&I Bank
Brandon Land Development
Costa DeVault
Datawise, Inc.
Dollar General Literacy
Foundation
Foley & Lardner, PA
Kilgore, Pearlman, Stamp, Ornstein
& Squires, PA
KPMG, LLP
Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor
& Reed, PA
Orlando Marriott Downtown
OUC – The Reliable One
PUSH Advertising
Sonny’s Franchise Company
Stetson University
Tico Perez Solutions, LLP
University Animal Hospital
Walt Disney World
Bill and Lisa Warren
Food Sponsors
Houlihans
Tijuana Flats
Shin Japanese Restaurant
Season’s Harvest
Sprinkles Custom Cakes
Wine Sponsors
Darden Restaurants
Montesquieu Wines
Foster’s Group
Ste. Michelle
Southern Wine & Spirits
Constellation Wines
Moet Hennessy
Trinchero Family Estates
Media Sponsors
Sunny 105.9
Mix 105.1
WKMG Local 6
AT&T Yellow Pages
Central Florida, where one of out
of five adults reads below a fifthgrade level. Specifically, the money
will support ALL’s volunteer
literacy program where there are
currently more than 100 students
waiting for tutors.
Photos: Top Left – Michael Connelly and
Bob Morris gave the audience a peek into a
writer’s mind when discussing their latest
books. Top Right – ALL board members
Rick Caron and Heidi Bedell share a
moment with Laura Diaz, weekend anchor
for WKMG Local 6 and our event’s emcee.
Bottom Left – Volunteer tutor Ron
Schorsch and his student Velina Modeste
shared the story of how they work together
to help Velina learn to read and write.
Bottom Right – Michael Connelly signs his
latest book, The Brass Verdict, for a fan.
THIS ISSUE4
This issue of Reading between the
Lines is sponsored by:
Reading between the Lines is published
twice a year. For more timely updates about
literacy in our community, sign up for our
e-mail newsletter mailing list by sending an
e-mail to: [email protected]
ALL 055 Summer 09 Newsletter:Layout 1 7/16/09 1:46 PM Page 3
Here Comes the Bus!
T
his year’s Lynx Public Service
Bus bears the logo of the Adult
Literacy League and seven other
charities. The bus depicts the theme:
Vital Threads that Form the Fabric
of Our Community. Each of the
charities will have their logo on the
bus for one year.
“We do this because the people in
these organizations and the good they
do for our community deserve to be
recognized. We hope that having these
organizations’ logos on one of our
buses will inspire everyone in Central
Florida to think about volunteering
their time and giving their talent to
make this a better place to live,” said
Linda Watson, Lynx CEO, on the day
of the unveiling.
Read to Me! Program
Reaches 330 Children
R
ead to Me! — an early
literacy program of the
Adult Literacy League
provides books, learning activities
and supplies to low-income
children. This program focuses on
reading with and to children for
20 minutes every day and provides
the books and support families
need to foster an early love for
reading. The children develop an
extensive vocabulary, and learn the
names and sounds of letters before
starting school — an important
indicator for long-term academic
success. At the same time, parents
learn how to read to their children
so they become the first and most
important teacher in their lives.
Currently, the program is offered
at Winter Park Day Nursery,
Frontline Outreach and Bithlo
Community Center.
ALL staff and board members posed with the Lynx bus on the day it was unveiled to
the community. From left: Lisa Warren, Joyce Whidden, Jakita Allen, Ken Withrow,
Gina Solomon, Dug Duggan and Deb Touchton.
Practice Makes Perfect at the
South Trail Library Branch!
I
n February, a popular and successful
ESOL class series began at the South
Trail Branch of the Orange County
Library System! “Practice Makes
Perfect” is facilitated under the
talented and enthusiastic instruction
of Gina Solomon, a certified instructor
with the Adult Literacy League. New
English speakers gather together for
conversational English practice every
Wednesday evening from 5:30 p.m.
to 7:30 p.m. at the branch. This
collaborative effort between the Adult
Literacy League and the Orange
County Library provides a most
welcome and exciting opportunity
to reach out to those interested in
practicing English. Students practice
a variety of methods from acting in
skits and taking dictation to game
playing and singing. Sessions are
themed with a recent one covering
the important topic of health
care. Branch Manager Carolyn
McClendon and her staff are very
pleased to host these sessions at
the South Trail Branch and look
forward to continued success!
We’re So Grateful
for Your Gift!
Recent Grants Received:
Build-A-Bear Hugs Foundation
Coldwell Banker Cares Foundation
Cora Lane, a retired teacher, spends countless hours assembling materials for the
activities in ALL’s early literacy program.
Dollar General Literacy Foundation
Florida Literacy Coalition/
BlueCross BlueShield of Florida
Orlando Magic Youth Fund
Orange County Government
Publix Supermarkets Charities
Walmart Local Giving Foundation
Walt Disney World
GET INVOLVED4
The Christian Science Monitor
recently published an article with
this alarming fact: “About 30
million people — 14 percent of the
U.S. population 16 and older —
have trouble with basic reading
and writing. Correlating factors
that were explored in a new
government report include
poverty, ethnicity, native language
background and learning
disabilities. Of these 30 million
people, 7 million are considered
‘non-literate’ in English because
their reading abilities are so low.”
YOU SEARCH. We Benefit.
YOU SHOP. We Benefit.
T
he Adult Literacy League
can earn a penny every time
you search the Internet.
GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoopowered search engine that donates a
penny per search to the charities its
users designate. Use it just as you
would any search engine, get quality
search results from Yahoo, and watch
the donations add up for ALL!
ALL can also earn a percentage of
every purchase you make online.
GoodShop.com is a new online
shopping mall, which donates up to
37 percent of each purchase to your
favorite cause! Hundreds of great
stores including Amazon, Target,
Gap, Best Buy, eBay, Macy's and
Barnes & Noble have teamed up with
GoodShop, and every time you place
an order, you’ll be supporting your
favorite cause.
Just go to www.goodsearch.com
and be sure to enter the Adult
Literacy League as the charity you
want to support.
ALL’s Family Literacy Director Sherry Clark (standing), works with volunteers to
coordinate materials for Read to Me! From left: Fleur Healy, Marilyn Simmons,
Carol Egolf and Jo Russell.
We Thank YOU!
Did You Know?
Photos: Top – Shine On! Read On! –
The Adult Literacy League Inc., (ALL)
was recently honored as one of 34 nonprofit organizations throughout Central
Florida to receive a Disney’s Helping Kids
Shine grant from Walt Disney World.
Bottom – Linda Landman-Gonzalez of
the Orlando Magic Youth Fund presents
a check to ALL’s Jakita Allen.
We Thank the Following for These Generous In-kind Donations:
•
•
Theresa Page and Tara Trimp from Wishes on Wings
for donating tons of paper, crayons and supplies for
our Family Literacy Program.
Conways BBQ, Firehouse Subs and Chipotle
Restaurant for providing lunch for our tutor
training workshops.
•
Orlando Business Journal for donating three cubicles
of furniture and accessories for our offices.
•
Metropolitan Bench for bus stop advertising.
•
Penang Nursery for beautiful centerpieces at our
Student Party.
•
Sharon Hartman for gifts, prizes and decorations
for our Volunteer Party.
•
OUC – e Reliable One for printing services.
If you or your company would like to donate in-kind
goods or services, please call 407.422.1540. We have a
constant need for: copy paper, 1” binders, 10” x 13”
envelopes, hand soap, manila file folders.