Winter 2012 - Literacy Council of Alaska

Literacy Council of Alaska
Issue #15
April 2011-December 2011 Newsletter
Table of contents:
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This year, you can donate any part or all of your PFD to the Literacy Council of Alaska! In the past two
years of Pick.Click.Give. hundreds of Alaskans have given nearly $1.5 million to Alaskan charities. When
you apply for your dividend online this year you can “Pick” and “Click” the Literacy Council of Alaska!
100% of your PFD donation will go to the Literacy Council so that lives can be changed through literacy
right here in Fairbanks! Thank you for your continued support as we work together to champion education
in the Interior.
Pick.Click.Give
Youth at Risk
Birch Park Kids After School
Adult Literacy Program
After School Programs
Computer Recycling Program
Book Recycling Program
Forget-Me-Not Bookstore
Over the past six months I have been exhausted
and challenged to consider the youth in our
community and the challenges that confront them. I
have spent hours observing and tutoring K-6th grade
at-risk youth in our Borough. I nearly quit when I
asked one 1st grade boy what he wanted to be and he
responded, “Poor.” I had been working with this
group of first graders trying to help them count on
their fingers. So many of our youth, the children we
have started tutoring, are living in decayed families
with little hope.
So, why didn’t I give up? LCA has a tremendous staff. They encourage me. They love and inspire these elementary
school children. They persevere in teaching, correcting, and challenging
the children intellectually. We are meeting with over 40 children three to
four times every week for the entire school year. My hope and
expectation is that these little lives will be better off for the time spent
learning. So I didn’t give up because 40 kids are worth it.
Mike Kolasa, Executive Director
The Birch Park Neighborhood Kids After
School Program is now in full swing. With a
grant through AHFC (Alaska Housing Finance
Corporation) the Literacy Council of Alaska
now sponsors an afterschool program for Birch
Park Community elementary age children who
reside in the complexes. These children attend
the program four
days a week taking
part in a variety of December Family Fun Night
activities involving Making Gingerbread Houses
art, science, cooking,
math and literacy. For an hour each day
students are engaged in “Power Hour” with a
focus on homework and other academic skills.
www.literacycouncilofalaska.org
Page 1
Literacy Council of Alaska
Volunteers
Volunteers
Lisa Baker
Karen Ballion
Kathy Bast
Hunter Bates
Jessica Bear
Ben Birtles
Charlene Black
Doug Blankensop
Haley Brown
Helen Brown
Lynne Buchanan
Arlene Cavanaugh
Jim Cavanaugh
Estella Collins
Beverly Conover
Elsie Crabb
Carter Crawford
Dan Darrow
Talia Davis
Tracy Dial
Melody Durrett
Jean Flanney
Gregory Franks
Lupe Grammont
Skye Greer
Hannah Hill
Thomas Josephson
Cody Kearns
Karl W. Keim
Judith Kleinfeld
Brian Koharian
Laura Kolasa
Marilyn Kolasa
Renard Kolasa
Denise LeClair
Kurt Laiti
Ryan Lancey
Mona J. Lawrence-Pailing
Rebecca Lenahan
Terissa Little
Kyle Maines
Jamie Marschner
Jesse May
Corina Martt
Heather Moritz
Cynthia Mountainflower
Mark Norris
Hannah Oh
Robert Otto
Keith Owen
Pat Perry
Lorraine Peterson
Erin Powers
Renae Richardson
Angela Rittenger
James Rogan
Nora Ross
Marilyn Russell
Walter Rutherford
Brenna Schaake
Windyn Seoles
John Seamands
Angel Smith
John Snyder
Robin Sukhee Oh
Toni Talbott
J.R. Tuel
Tutor Volunteers cont.
“Rita” came to us
in April, 2010. She
was working at a fast
food restaurant full
time and with six
children had little
time to study. She
had a very limited
education in her home country of Samoa and
wanted to learn how to read and write
English. We were able to match her with a
very dedicated tutor. Since then, Rita has
improved her employment and you can see
the new confidence in the way she speaks and
carries herself. Most importantly, she now
loves reading and is passing that gift on to her
children.
She wrote a story about her life and how
much she appreciated what the Literacy
Council did for her. “In 2010 I had a tutor and
we started working together. Even until now
I still study with her for two days a week.
November 18, 2011, I became a U.S. citizen
and I was very happy. It was really hard to
study all 100 questions to pass the history test
and my teacher helped me understand all of
them. I passed my reading, writing, and
speaking English correctly. If I hadn’t had
my amazing teacher, Jean Hannon, I would
not be a citizen today. I will never forget her
and what she has done for me.”
LCA is offering more programs and
services to school-aged children than ever
before! We have grown so much that
we’ve even hired another staff member
and AmeriCorps
volunteer. This fall we
started a tutoring
program at the Boys
and Girls Club that
serves nearly 30
children in kindergarten through 6th grade.
We’ve furthered this
commitment to serving under-privileged
children with our new afterschool program
that serves youth in the Birch Park Community. Adult volunteer tutors continue to
work with their respective tutees twice a
week. And Guys Read is off and running
with over 40 volunteers showing over 500
4th grade boys just how much fun reading
can be. To top it all off, we’re starting a
“First Friday” family playgroup at
LCA called “Little Bookworms.” We’re
extremely thrilled by all of these
wonderful opportunities to promote school
readiness and school success.
CHAMPIONS AND LEADERS IN LITERACY
Many thanks to these businesses and individuals who have supported the Literacy Council of
Alaska at the leadership level. Thank you for supporting LCA’s mission to promote
Rasmuson Foundation
Bertha Bucher
Marilyn Russell
Angry, Young & Poor
Era Alaska
School Age Tutor
Volunteers
Anthony Arendt
Christine Burr
Andy Foran
Michael Gomes
Grianna Simpson
Michelle Williams
Darrel Zuke
Adult Tutor
Volunteers
Cori Anthony
Mayanna Bean
Maria Berger
Derek Berndt
Mamie Brown
Beth Butcher
Jeff Congdon
Mark Dallman
Holly DeLand
Gulliver’s Books
Dennis Wise
Paul & Terry Reichardt
Weeks Charitable Foundation
Holland America Westours
Candy Waugaman
www.literacycouncilofalaska.org
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Jean Hannon
Rebecca Hazen
Anne Holte
Sarah Hopkins
Joy Jones
Dolly Kjera
Ida Knaebel
Mike Kolasa
Michael Kopcznski
Jana Kreofsky
Monika Kurber
Carol Linkswiler
Mary Matthews
Benjamin McFarlane
Brenda McFarlane
Linda McFarlane
Erin Munger
Dmitry Nicolsky
Marilyn Richardson
Cathy Roberts
Barbara Rondine
Marilyn Russell
Rachel Seale
Sara Simpson
Iris Sutton
Nina Tartakoff
Michele Thompson
Rosemary Wiebold
Darrel Zuke
Volunteers Teachers
Garret Armstrong
Beverly Conover
Daniel Darrow
Barrie Greenfield
Michael Kopcznski
Mary Matthews
Elisabeth Padilla
Patrick Saunders
Melanie Wells
Barbara White
Caroline Wolf
Contributions
Champion of Literacy
Bertha Bucher
Leaders in Literacy
Angry, Young & Poor
Craig E. Dorman
Paul & Terry Reichardt
Marilyn Russell
Wal-Mart Foundation
Candy Waugaman
Weeks Charitable
Foundation
Dennis Wise
Investors in Literacy
Fairbanks Emblem Club
#109
Karen Perdue
Betsy Robertson
Julie Scott
Richard Seifert
Don & Julia Triplehorn
Joseph Usibelli & Peggy
Shumaker
Matt West
Friend of Literacy
Advance Printing Co., Inc.
Ajimi Restaurant
Alaska Laborers Political &
Educational Committee
James R. Miears Jr. DDS, PC
Northern Land Use Research,
Inc.
PDC, Inc. Consulting
Engineers
Scheller Dental, Inc.
Totem Chevron Ser., Inc.
Anita Ashbaugh
Fred & Kathy Bast
Alan R. Batten
Lizabeth Buckalew
Roger & Sylvia Burns
Literacy Council of Alaska
Literacy Council distributes 500th recycled computer
Contributions
Friend of Literacy cont.
Darrel Zuke likes computers -- and people, a combination which comes in handy in his job as the
computer recycling technician for the Literacy Council of Alaska.
The computer recycle program, which began in the fall
of 2007, distributed its 500th computer in December. The
program, supported by an Exxon Mobil grant, accepts
donations of used computers which are refurbished and
reformatted and provided to senior citizens, low-income
families and nonprofit agencies for a low processing fee.
“Literacy involves much more than just reading,” Zuke
says. “It means being able to function in today’s world,
and that involves using a computer.”
Many of the recycle program’s clients are senior
citizens using computers for the first time. In addition to
refurbishing the computers, Zuke also teaches basic computer skills at the Literacy Council. He begins
his classes with: “Here’s how you turn a computer on.”
The recycle program accepts computers with Pentium 4
processors or better, flat screen monitors and laptops. Zuke
and occasional volunteers and interns refurbish the
computers, replace parts as needed, and install free virus and
productivity software. The fee is to cover expenses of the
program.
Zuke, who retired from the Federal Aviation Administration in 2004, has been with LCA for six years. He works
through the Americorps program, which is a national service
organization designed to meet critical community needs
including literacy. Americorps staff are paid a small stipend,
and receive education credits, which in Zuke’s case will go to his grandchildren for college expenses.
More than 15,000 books were distributed through •
the Book Recycling Program during the last six
months of 2011. Thanks to generous support from
Era Alaska and Wright Air Service, recycle books
were distributed to 24 schools, 21 village councils
and 17 children’s service agencies across the state.
Locally, books went to children’s service agencies,
senior centers, military families, Fairbanks
Memorial Hospital and Fairbanks Correctional
Center, among others.
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Some recent messages received about the
program:
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Thanks for the continued support of Arctic
Village School literacy! We would love to keep
getting books!!!!
Thank you again for the help with books! It was
a rainy, soggy day - but we got 300 Hero Packs
built and delivered!!!
I want to thank you so much for the books
you've sent to the Kodiak School District's
rural library project. The last shipment was so
perfect, I just boxed it up and took it to
Akhiok, a village of 25 students on the south
end of Kodiak island. We would
like to continue to be involved in
the program, and we need primarily
children's and juvenile and young
adult books.
You can stick a couple of those
woodworking magazines in our
next box, no rush, but that sounds
interesting and relevant to my
community. I have several elders
that make hand made snowshoes
and dog sleds.
www.literacycouncilofalaska.org
Page 3
Kurt Carlson
Cheryl Conner
Paula M. Corbett
Anthea Craven
Kim Davis
David Day
Marsha Dean
Carol delos Santos
Mike E. Donaldson
Tracy Doyle
Nicole Eiseman
Catherine Franklin
Omar Garner
Monica Garza
Betty Ruth George
John Roy Gillen
Carol Gold
Jodi Gouwens
Rita Heidkamp & Scott
Heidom
Sandra Heilman
Susan Henrichs
Ken & Cynthia Henry
Marjorie Holt
Becky Huber
Crystal Jaeger
Jama Rama Enterprises, Inc.
Dan & Mary Johnson
Ronald & Carol Johnson
Carrie Landau
Judy Lasater
Corrine Leistikow
Jerry & Jennifer McBeath
Laurel McLaughlin
Riki Mery
Katherine Mosca
Mary Ann Nickles
Steven Nordstrom
Scott & Shenobu Olson
Debra & Daniel Osborn
Hugh Richards
Phil & Katie Sanders
Elizabeth Schauer
John Schauer
Karen Schauer
Elizabeth Shapland & Mark
Box
Michelle Shelton
Melinda Sims
Catherine Smith
Nance Smoyer
Laurence & Margaret Soden
Ambrosia Stiegman
Erin & Toni Talbott
Dorothy Thompson
Amber Underwood
Suzanne L. Waugaman
Frank & Judith Williams
Joette Wood
Nonprofit Organization
US Postage
Paid
Fairbanks, Alaska
Permit No. 202
517 Gaffney Road
Fairbanks, AK 99701
Phone: 907-456-6212
Fax: 907-456-4302
www.literacycouncilofalaska.org
E-mail: [email protected]
Forget-Me-Not Books
E-Mail: [email protected]
907-456-6210
LCA STAFF
Mike Kolasa, Executive Director
Becky Magowan, Business Manager
Paulette Rahm, Administrative Assistant
Cherie Johnston, School Age, Guys & Gal Read
Coordinator
Dawn Nadeau, Youth Enrichment Coordinator
Shauna Brees, School Age Program Asssisant
Sinar Christiansen, School Age AmeriCorps
Brenda McFarlane, Adult Literacy Coordinator
Holly DeLand, Adult Program AmeriCorps
Elisabeth Padilla, Play Group Facilitator
Joy Miller, Adult Literacy Support
Cori Kindred, Bookstore Manager
Jackie Stormer, Book Recycling Coordinator
Heather Moritz, Book Recycling AmeriCorps
Arlene Cavanaugh, Volunteer Librarian
Darrel Zuke, Computer Recycling AmeriCorps
Terry Stamey MASST
Pleased to serve our community.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Lisa Baker, Chair
Bradley McGinnity, Treasurer
Lupe Grammont
Mike McConahy
Mary Huskey
Linda Wies
Grace Schaible, Honorary Life Member
The Literacy Council of Alaska is a nonprofit
educational agency, which began in 1973. LCA
is governed by a Board of Directors.
Our mission is to promote literacy for people of
all ages in Fairbanks and the Interior. Literacy
means being able to read, write, and speak
English and to compute in order to function in
today’s society.
Our goals are: 1) help community members
achieve individual education goals and 2) raise
public awareness about literacy.
It’s a new year, and with it comes a fresh face for Forget-MeNot Books! We’ve made a few changes around the store and
would like to thank our customers and volunteers for sticking
with us throughout the mess of construction, rearranging, and
procedural changes that took place over the last few months. It
was a lot of work, but well worth it!
Thanks to a grant from the Rasmuson
Foundation the bookstore received a
facelift in the form of a new entryway and reception area. If you
haven’t already seen it, come check out the new set-up. It looks great!
We have so much more room, which translates to an even larger
selection of books on the shelves!
The only thing that’s changed about our fantastic prices is they’ve
gotten even lower! At least 90% of the books are still $2 (for adult
books) or 50¢ (for children’s books)! Our popular punch cards, for
items $2 or more, is still being offered.
How do we keep our prices so low? That’s a good question. All
of our merchandise is generously donated by the Fairbanks community and the bookstore
relies on our fabulous volunteers to prep the books and staff the store. We couldn’t do it
without them. Recently, we also acquired some pricing guns to help keep our costs low. Instead of placing handwritten price tags and star or dot stickers on each book we are making a
transition to placing a colored price tag on each item in the store (with the exception of the 50¢
children’s books). The pricing guns are much more efficient and now merchandise will all be
clearly marked!
We’re looking forward to another year supporting literacy in the interior and providing a
source for great books at low prices to the Fairbanks community!