October/November 2015 - Literacy Volunteers of Illinois

O c t o b e r / N o v e m b e r
2 0 1 5
M a k i n g
From the Executive Director …
A
D i f f e r e n c e
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M a k i n g
A
C h a n g e
Newsletter Date
VOCAL N EWS
VOCAL Goes to Springfield!
On Wednesday, October 21st, all roads led to the Prairie Capital Convention
Center in Springfield for LVI staff and VOCAL members. The occasion was Serve
Illinois’ National Service Recognition Day. From downtown Chicago, the western
suburbs, and central and southern Illinois, LVI staff and AmeriCorps members
piled into buses and cars to make the trek to our state’s capital. Aptly called
#Ameriday, the LVI contingency joined with nearly 1,000 members from the
three Streams of Service - Learn & Serve, Senior Corps, and AmeriCorps - for a
day of celebration, collaboration, and renewed commitment to community and
cause.
Upon arrival, there was so much to take in at the Convention Center. Familiar
organizations had set up shop; the Central Illinois Community Blood Center had
long lines as usual for members and staff to give blood, and Ronald McDonald
House Charities and their celebrity spokesman, Ronald McDonald, was again on
hand collecting pop top tabs. Added to the project roster for this year was
Gloves4Troops, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that sends baseball gloves
and baseballs to U.S. military members around the world. It was announced
later that they received thirty baseball gloves and 100 balls from those attending. Though our Chicago group arrived with plenty of time to spare, we nonetheless hustled to take our seats at tables adorned with AmeriCorps and Serve
Illinois branded take-a-ways which included a plastic cup, drawstring bag, and mini-portfolios.
Scott McFarland, Executive Director of the Serve Illinois Commission, opened the ceremony and introduced a
few special people, including the Serve Illinois Commissioners, staff, and Ms. Akilah Davis of WICS ABC News
Channel 20 in Springfield, who would soon take over as the afternoon’s emcee. Scott then highlighted the
efforts of members from each Stream who, through their service, helped to change the lives of those around
them. VOCAL member Dr. Gynelle Baccus, a retired nursing professor based at LVI’s Jump Start program at IYCHarrisburg, was deservedly featured when Scott read a statement she wrote on what service and tutoring the
incarcerated young men meant to both her and them.
Akilah Davis then took over the microphone and shared some of the accomplishments
and accolades of the next guest, who was none other than the CEO of the Corporation
for National and Community Service, Wendy Spencer. She was accompanied on stage
by her own theme music - Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk! It was inspiring and refreshing
to witness the zeal and energy of Ms. Spencer. She commended all of the members for
choosing to serve their country at such a time as this, when their courage, skills, and
commitment are needed now more than ever. At the conclusion of her remarks it was
clear that she had unequivocally helped members to understand: this is not a job, this
is not work, but a commitment to serve their community and their country. Ms. Davis
returned to the podium to present former AmeriCorps and
(continued on page 3)
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Success at SCRABBLE for Literacy!
Are you ready to SCRABBLE? Everyone who
came to the 12th Annual SCRABBLE for Literacy Challenge sure was!
LVI STAFF
Dorothy M. Miaso
Executive Director
Chamala Travis
Program Coordinator
VOCAL AmeriCorps
Melissa Auer
Program Coordinator
IYC-St. Charles
Julie Copher
Program Coordinator
IYC-Harrisburg
Debra Sundberg
Program Coordinator
IYC-Kewanee
AMERICORPS MEMBERS
Nicola Brown
Literacy Volunteers of Illinois
Etta LaFlora
IYC-Kewanee
Brandon Thom
IYC-Harrisburg
Teresa Urfer
IYC-St Charles
While I was selling raffle tickets that morning,
there were 3 words that came to mind: community, generosity and literacy.
Community, because we had a wide variety
people present. Attendees ranged from those
who were competing nationally to others who had never played a game before in their lives, like yours truly.
Generosity, because mostly everyone who I had asked to buy a raffle ticket
bought a lot. Maybe it was because of the prizes, but I like to think it was
mostly because they want to support adult literacy, which I am so thankful for.
We need all the support we can get.
And finally, literacy. I consider literacy to be one of the greatest gifts ever given to me. I value my education and the doors that it has opened for me and I
want to share that with others. It was invigorating to spend a day with other
like-minded individuals poring over a table of letters. Who would have
thought that 26 letters could be capable of so much entertainment?
But these letters are capable, not only of entertainment, but of great power in
the world. Literacy is the key. Thanks LVI!
BOARD MEMBERS
Maria Peace, Pui Tak Center
Alex Crevi
President
John McLeod
Treasurer
Reynaldo Dumas
Blake Dunphy
Carol Morris
Madison Palmer
Don Singer
Maria Thiel
Diana Turowski
NEWSLETTER
Nicola Brown
Editor
Literacy Volunteers of Illinois
30 East Adams, Suite 600
Chicago, IL 60603
P: 312.857.1582
F: 312.587.1586
lvillinois.org
[email protected]
Despite the fact that I’m not much of a
SCRABBLE player myself, I enjoyed my afternoon helping out at the SCRABBLE for Literacy Challenge. The turnout was great and it
was nice to see so many people passionate
about literacy and SCRABBLE! It was fun to
watch how all the games progressed.
I got the chance to chat with SCRABBLE World Champion Brian Cappelletto for
a little bit. He let me in on his secret to success: SCRABBLE is really more about
numbers, probability, and combinations than it is about having a big vocabulary. Since he works as a commodities trader by day, he’s able to use skills
learned on the job to make his SCRABBLE game better!
I also enjoyed getting to meet some other AmeriCorps members from different organizations. It's always interesting to hear what other people are doing
as part of their service!
Carol Briggs, Howard Area Community Center
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VOCAL Goes to Springfield, cont.
Senior Corps Alums who were recognized for their outstanding past service.
Finally, it was time for the presentation of programs! On the big screen inside the
Convention Center, logos of each Illinois program were on display. As Scott called
out program names, representatives made their way to the stage. VOCAL second
year member Dave Anians ascended the stairs to the rousing applause of LVI staff
that included site supervisors – Melissa Auer, Julie Copher and Deb Sundberg along with our Corps of new and returning members. At the conclusion of the
recognition of 2015 – 2016 programs, Keynote Speaker Michael Brandwein gave a
powerful presentation on identifying leadership traits within one’s self and how
doing so can help others do the same for themselves.
Following his remarks, members once again paraded to the Old State
Capital, carrying banners and waving the American flag. Once assembled
in front of the steps, Scott McFarland, accompanied by staff and Serve
Illinois Commission Chair Fred Nettles, read the Governor’s Proclamation, which was followed by Wendy Spencer leading AmeriCorps members in taking the “Oath of Office.” The Senior Corps for the first time
had their own swearing-in, led by President Abraham Lincoln. Wendy had one more gift to impart when she
read a special statement from the President of the United States, who stood where Wendy stood and announced his candidacy for that high office in 2007. She concluded the program by taking a selfie with the 20152016 Illinois AmeriCorps and Senior Corps and promised to Snap it, Tag it, and Share it at #Awesome
Chamala Travis, VOCAL AmeriCorps Program Coordinator
My Day in Springfield
The National Service Recognition Day in Springfield was a pretty interesting experience. I thought it was great to see the interactive use of technology during the conference, with tweets projected live on a large screen. It was also inspiring to hear how
many people serve in AmeriCorps each year in the U.S. and Illinois; about 1,000 people were there and that’s only a fraction.
We had the privilege of hearing Wendy Spencer, the CEO of the Corporation for National & Community Service, speak and inform us of the benefits of being an AmeriCorps member or alum and lead us in being sworn in. I appreciated knowing that they
recognized alumni and talked about the network in place that alums can take advantage of from a professional development standpoint, as someone who is already
looking for my next step.
Dave Anians was VOCAL’s representative and presented our group on stage. He said
in his speech that AmeriCorps is to him, as it is to many of us, an opportunity to take
one more step in learning how to work for a better world for everyone.
The keynote speaker, Michael Brandwein, was certainly entertaining and engaging, giving us advice on our
growth as leaders. He helped wake us all up a bit after a long day of speeches and presentations. I liked that he
kept it simple, with his two secrets to leadership: WDiSWILAM and
Focus on C, not Q.
Brian Carman, Centro Romero
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Friday Training at the Literacenter
On the first Friday of October, VOCAL members gathered at the
Literacenter for another AmeriCorps training. This time, we were
learning more about how to recruit and retain volunteers. As someone who doesn’t handle volunteer coordination on a daily basis, it
was interesting to see what sorts of strategies are being used.
We were also lucky enough to have Maggie Christ come in to give a
presentation on effective social media strategy. I had already
learned a few things about this from some previous meetings, but a
few new ideas were presented that I thought were pretty useful,
particularly creating content calendars to plan posts ahead of time.
Also important to note were the suggestions she gave on crowdfunding sites. Given the current situation
with the state budget, I thought this was very timely.
At the end of the day, we had a round table discussion with AmeriCorps alum Cat Pumphrey about what it
means to serve, versus what it means to help or fix. I thought this shed a lot of light on the varying motivations people may have to serve, and how the key to serving well is to always remain empathetic.
Nicola Brown, LVI
The Bee Sting: Adult Spelling for Howard Area
To be honest, before arriving at Mayne Stage, I was pretty nervous. The last time I was in a spelling bee was in middle school, and
that went extraordinarily poorly, so I was not relishing another
experience spelling in the spotlight. But to my surprise, HACC’s
spelling bee fundraiser was a lot of fun! Some of the pressure was
off, because it was a team bee and we were allowed to confer
with our teammates before sending a representative to the mic.
We made it through the first three rounds (our words were
“ukulele,” “dromedary,” and “denouement”), and during the short
intermission that followed, we tested ourselves with a list of hard
spelling words we found on the internet.
The next three rounds, however, saw six of the nine teams misspell their words and leave the stage for good, including us. Our
downfall: the word “wahine,” which is a Hawaiian word for woman or girl. We spelled it “wahini” because of the long “e” sound at
the end, and thus our bid to be spelling champs was over. But
despite our loss, it was a great experience! Hopefully we can be a
part of it again next year.
Nicola Brown, LVI
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18th Annual New Readers for New Life Conference
Held in conjunction with the University of Illinois at
Chicago Center for Literacy, the New Readers for
New Life Conference is coming up on November
21st! This conference helps connect current and past
adult learners with each other, so they can share
their stories and experiences. They spend the day
getting to know each other through a series of workshops and Home Bases. Program staff, volunteer tutors, adult education teachers, and students’ spouses are also welcome to attend, but Home Bases are
only open to students. These are student-led opportunities for present and past adult learners to talk
with each other as a community of learners. Similar
sessions for others attending are also held. Registration before November 13th is $6 for adult learners
and $10 for others, after that date registration is $8 for adult learners and $12 for others. We hope to
see you there!
Member Spotlight: CCLC
Jamaine Lacey has lived in many places, but has spent a large part of his life in Englewood, Chicago. He studied in Jefferson City, MO, where he obtained a BS in Journalism at Lincoln University.
He has previously spent some time working for the government, but decided to join
AmeriCorps because of his desire to serve the most vulnerable members of our society. As such, he is working as the Communications Assistant for the Chicago Citywide
Literacy Coalition, where he assists, updates, and creates content for CCLC’s external
communications, such as newsletters, CCLC’s website, and social media.
For Jamaine, the most rewarding part of his position is being able to help advocate for
literacy and adult education. He’s found there to be a few challenges, though, in learning how to fully utilize WordPress most effectively. It’s been an eye-opening first post-graduate journalism/
communications experience!
After AmeriCorps, Jamaine sees himself working in media, though he’s not sure if he’d rather be on the
broadcast side or the social side. Someday, he’d like to run his own media company and he’d like to hear your
suggestions for a catchy name! When not at work, Jamaine likes spending time with his two daughters, exploring Chicago and beyond, reading, and WWE.
The Chicago Citywide Literacy Coalition advocates for and develops implementation strategies for improving
adult literacy and the adult basic education system via a coordinated effort to: Improve the quality and build
the capacity of adult basic education programs; foster an adult education infrastructure that adequately transitions learners into the workforce or post-secondary education; and, promote equitable access to quality education for all ages throughout the city.
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Upcoming Dates
Fun Things to Do!
Saturday, November 21st
9:00 am—4:00 pm
New Readers for New Life Conference
UIC Center for Literacy
1040 W. Harrison St
McCormick Tribune Ice Rink Opening
Friday, November 13
Millennium Park
Kicking off Chicago’s winter season, the McCormick Tribune Ice Rink in Millennium Park will open
on Friday the 13th (spooky!) and will remain open
until March 6th.
Thursday & Friday, November 26th & 27th
Thanksgiving Holiday
(Office Closed)
Thursday, December 3rd
1:00 pm—4:30 pm
Quarterly Member Meeting; Topic: True Colors
Signature Office Centers @ 333 S. Wabash Ave
Magnificent Mile Lights Festival
Saturday, November 21
Pioneer Court, Magnificent Mile
The daylong event features live music in Pioneer
Court, a tree lighting parade along Michigan Avenue and celebratory fireworks as the evening
comes to a close. Free.
5:30 pm—7:30 pm
Holiday Party
Exchequer Pub @ 226 S. Wabash Ave
Friday, December 4th
9:00 am—4:30 pm
Quarterly Member Meeting
Literacenter @ 641 W. Lake St
Thanksgiving Parade
Thursday, November 26
State Street, between Congress and Randolph
Sure, you could watch giant inflatable cartoon
characters float through the streets on TV, but you
should really go downtown and witness this
Thanksgiving tradition in person. Chicago's annual
Thanksgiving Parade features a procession of
floats, marching bands and local celebrities.
LVI Fun Fact
A Japanese woman named Murasaki Shikibu was the
world’s very first novelist! She wrote The Tale of Genji
around 1008 CE.
LVI’s Social Networks
www.Twitter.com/LVIllinois
Belatedly, Carol Briggs, 10/24
Belatedly, Yordanos Gebrekidane 11/1
All our photos can be found on
Martha Ochoa-Nebolsky 11/21
Facebook, so remember to “Like” us
when you visit www.Facebook.com.
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