Vol. 12, Issue 2/September 2012
From the Desk
of the Director
T h e s t a t e o f
Michigan is a state
blessed with the riches
of unspoiled nature,
the world's longest
freshwater coastline,
lakes that feel like
oceans, shimmering
beaches, glorious sunrises and
sunsets, daytime skies of the deepest
blue and nighttime skies scattered with
stars. I do hope you took the time this
summer to visit the many beautiful
sites and sounds of PURE Michigan
and enjoyed quiet reading time for
pure enjoyment.
Speaking of great places in
Michigan, do you have a favorite
place or activity to do with children in
our community? We want to hear
your ideas for our future local
community children's book entitled
"Z to A in the Great Lakes Bay". See
page 4 for more detail on this exciting
project sponsored in part by Great
Lakes Bay Publishing (publishers of
Great Lakes Bay Regional Lifestyle
Magazine), the Dow Chemical
Company and READ.
Here it is September and school is
now in session. May the 2012 - 2013
school year be filled with a rewarding
learning environment for the over
30,000 school children in our County.
Many children struggle to learn to
read, as it is one of the hardest skills
to master. Continue to donate your
time or help us recruit new volunteers
for this school year so that children
have every opportunity to become
better readers.
Although the former Reading is
Fundamental (RIF) grant has been
Board of Directors
Eric Rutherford, Chair
Jan Merriam, Vice Chair
Trish Burns, Secretary
Janet Hoffman, Treasurer
Carol R. Lechel, President
Lindsay Eggers, Immediate Past Chair
Peter Bagley
Steve Canole
Mary Goedert
David M. Hall, Ph.D.
Derrick Harge
Marisa Horak Belotti
Kimberly Johnson
Sheri Leaman-Case
Jeff McCulloch
Matt Peterson
Michelle Porra
Elinor Saunders
Sue Smith
Karen Vasold
READ Association of Saginaw County
100 S. Jefferson, Suite 401
Saginaw, Michigan 48607
Phone: (989) 755-8402
Fax: (989) 755-8404
Hours: T, W, Th. 9am-3pm
or by appointment
Director/President:
Carol Lechel
Administrative Assistant:
Sara Larsen
Office Assistants:
Lori Hausbeck
Kathy Rogers
www.READinSaginaw.org
NEW
Donate Online
For your convenience we now offer you the opportunity to make a donation to the READ Association of Saginaw County using a credit card or PayPal account. To make an online donation, visit our website at www.ReadinSaginaw.org and click the DONATE button on the Home Page or the Support READ page.
We hope you find this a helpful
and convenient donation option.
eliminated from the federal budget, the
READ Board of Directors is
committed to raising the additional
dollars needed to continue a book
giveaway program for children served
in our program. The importance of
offering students the ability to choose
and own books they want to read
builds literacy success. As children
begin the new school year, let's
continue to bring the joy of reading to
children in our community through our
time and financial generosity.
Carol Lechel
Director
2 READ Association of Saginaw County________________________________________________________________
Thanks to a wonderful partnership between the Saginaw YMCA Strong Kids Campaign,
Longfellow Elementary Teachers, and the READ Association of Saginaw County, 20 boys and girls from Longfellow Elementary School experienced all the benefits that summer residential camp had to offer this past July 22 – 27.
The fifteen 3rd, 4th and 5th grade boys who attended the week at Y Camp Timbers in West Branch also participated in 2 hours of daily literacy activity. Mission: READ Camp included reading and hands on activities about survival in the woods, cooking outdoors, learning to use a compass and map, and building a shelter. Each camper also wrote in their journal each day and then concluded with a photo journal to take home. There were many teachable moments and a multitude of opportunities, as many of the students came to camp with a very limited knowledge and experience in the great outdoors.
Warm sunshine, animals, books and lots of great volunteers made it a great day at
the 11th annual DEAR at the Zoo - Drop Everything and READ event held on June
13th at the Children's Zoo at Celebration Square. Over 1850 children and their
families visited the literacy activities throughout the entire zoo, stopping in between to
enjoy the zoo animals who love the company of children having fun.
Special thanks to the Zoo Staff,
the booth sponsor agencies and
organizations, Boy Scouts and
their leaders, our generous
donors, Michigan author Nancy
Shaw and all the enthusiastic
volunteers that make DEAR at
the Zoo such a quality family
event each year. Mark your
calendars ... next year's date is
Wednesday, June 19, 2013.
Fall Orientation For all Returning Mentors
Wednesday, September 26 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm Saginaw YMCA
1915 Fordney St. - on the corner of Rust Avenue (M-46)
YMCA tours available before and after orientation.
OR
Thursday, September 27 10 am - 11 am
Historical Society of Saginaw County Castle Museum
500 Federal Ave.- on the corner of South Jefferson Ave.
Parking available behind the Museum, on the street, or in Hoyt Library parking lot.
Museum tours available after orientation.
Guest speaker Mary Goedert will speak on "Understanding the Classroom of Today." Today's classroom standards and expectations, and children's values based on family economics, can make a difference in the way children learn. Mary is a retired educator with a Masters in Reading Instruction and over 30 years of education experience. She served as a teacher and a principal during her career, and is truly a reading enthusiast!
Fall Orientation provides a great opportunity to meet other volunteer mentors, share ideas, and receive new supplies and materials to help you during your mentor sessions.
4 READ Association of Saginaw County________________________________________________________________
Sharing the Good Works of READ
Since you already
support READ, you
already know the
good works of our
mission: to help students
improve their reading skills and
discover the joy of reading. We need
YOUR help to spread the word....tell
others why YOU support READ with
your time and/or financial donation.
Especially now, we need new
individuals to commit to serving as a
volunteer mentor for the school year.
It's just a one hour commitment one
hour per week OR join with a partner
and volunteer one hour every other
week. If you know someone that you
think might consider volunteering or
making a donation, please let us know.
Congratulations to our volunteers
who did indeed refer a friend in May
and June and were entered in our Prize
Drawing. The winning names that
were drawn from the 39 entries are:
First Prize - $50 Meijer Gift Card:
Bonn Washington
Second Prize - $25 gift certificate to
the Children's Book Company:
Mary Goedert
3rd Prize - READ bag filled with
books: Margaret Dashner
We want to hear your ideas for our future local community children's book entitled "Z to A in the Great Lakes Bay", sponsored in part by Great Lakes Bay Publishing (publishers of Great Lakes Bay Regional Lifestyle Magazine), the Dow Chemical Company, and READ.
Each letter of the alphabet will feature ideas of locations in the Great Lakes Bay Region, which includes Saginaw, Bay City, Midland and Mt Pleasant areas. We want to hear your favorite places to visit and things to do in this community. For example you might suggest C for the Children's Zoo at Celebration Square, D for Downtown Saginaw Farmer's Market, or M for Mid Michigan Children's Museum - the list goes on. We challenge you to submit an idea for every letter of the alphabet.
The preferred method to submit information is to "LIKE" the READ Association of Saginaw County on facebook and list your ideas at www.facebook.com/READinSaginaw. If you do not have a facebook account you may email to [email protected], submit by phone 989-755-8402, or mail to READ, 100 S. Jefferson Suite 401, Saginaw, Michigan 48607. All submissions are due by September 30.
Say YES to reading in the Great Lakes Bay!
A to Z IN THE GREAT LAKES BAY
You can make CHANGE happen by funding the building blocks for a self sufficient life. Instead of focusing on a single issue, United Way of Saginaw County supports 32 programs at 19 partnering agencies throughout our community including the READ program. Thank you for supporting the United Way. Together, UNITED, we can inspire hope and create CHANGE in our Saginaw County community.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_________________________________________________________________________________ September 2012 5
Special thanks to the following individuals and organizations who have contributed to the READ
Association during the period of May 24, 2012 through August 23, 2012. Thanks for Sharing!
GRANT
Michigan CardioVascular Institute
Saginaw Celebrates Summer sponsored in part by Hemlock
Semiconductor
SPONSOR A CENTER
Charles and Adeline Barth Charitable Foundation
2012-2013 BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP
Novel Sponsor
Citizens Bank
BOOKMARK
Judy Carr
Marilyn & Bob Filter
Jan Hennink
John & Mildred James
Marilyn Ludgin
GENERAL CONTRIBUTIONS
Alpha Delta Kappa—Alpha Sigma Chapter
Altrusa International of Saginaw & Rotary Club of Saginaw-
Bee for Literacy Proceeds
Anonymous
Catholic Federal Credit Union
First Congregational Church of Saginaw
Frankenmuth Jaycees
Bill & Sue Johnson
Leo A. Kahan & Emelie O. Kahan Charitable Foundation
Carol R. Lechel
Morgan Stanley
Loraine Stindt
Dee Storey
Jim & Marie Stuart
IN MEMORY OF FROM
Jacquelyn (Fry) DeBeau Joyce H. Jessmore
Mike Houlihan Ed & Mary Andrus
Clarence Kroah Jim & Sue Kessler
Mary Lou Moll Lawrence H. Moll, Sr.
Sheryl Courbier Virginia Anderson
Donna Bacarella
Christine Becker
Jacquelyn de Regnaucourt
Linda DuShane
Sally Kolekamp
Margaret Mason
Jacqueline O’Polka
Deborah Quillan
Barbara Savage
C.J. Thon
Mary Jo Tidey
Raquel Van Dam
IN CELEBRATION OF FROM
Jean Grey’s 90th Birthday Mary Lou Ederer
Roselynn Ederer
Sally & Dick Haines’ Nancy Kraus
60th Anniversary Nancy MacRae
Margaret Snelling
LIVE UNITED. READ is grateful to all those who support
the United Way of Saginaw County. We would like to recognize
and thank these individuals who designated their contributions
to READ during the 2011-2012 United Way Campaign:
Linda Babechenko
Ryan Ball
Ann Marie Batkoski
Heidi Behnke
Jennifer Blehm
Margaret Breasbois
Ruth L. Copp
Lindsay Eggers
Susie Emond
Jonathan M. Gardey
Anthony Greanias
Lori Hausbeck
Stephanie Hecht
Dana Hill
Thomas E. Hollerback
Kimberly E. Johnson
Richard P. King
William G. Koepke Jr.
Sharon Leaman-Case
Carol L. Likam
Sushil Mankani
Patricia A. McLellan
Celia A. Miller
Beth Moeller
Ashley Hilbrandt Pockrandt
Tracy A. Seyuin
Ken Spencer
Sue A. Sulfridge
Patricia A. Taylor
Christine Tiderington
Thomas J. Weadock
Dianne Willett-Dalton
I/We would like to make a donation in support of the READ Association of Saginaw County:
Amount Enclosed: $25 $50 $100 Other $_______
Name(s) _____________________________________________________ (Please list name(s) as you would like to be acknowledged)
Address ________________________________________ City ______________ State _____ Zip _________
This Gift is made: In Memory of In Honor of In Celebration of _________________________________ Person(s)/Occasion
Send acknowledgement to: Name(s) _____________________________________________________________
Address ________________________________________ City ______________ State _____ Zip _________
Please make checks payable to: READ Association Mail to: READ Association 100 S. Jefferson Ave. Ste. 401, Saginaw, MI 48607
Share the Gift of Literacy:
The READ Association of
Saginaw County is a 501 (c)(3)
non-profit organization whose
mission is to help students
improve their reading skills and
discover the joy of reading.
“Reading is a basic
tool in the living
of a good life.”
-Mortimer Adler
READ Association of Saginaw County
100 S. Jefferson, Suite 401
Saginaw, Michigan 48607
Upcoming READ Events:
Fall Orientation Meetings for Returning Volunteers:
Wednesday, September 26 Thursday, September 27
6:30pm - 7:30pm OR 10 am—11 am
Saginaw YMCA Historical Society of Saginaw
County Castle Museum