I was paging through a picture book this morning, looking for a short story to use with my students, and came across this gem. After reading the tale from China, I sat at my desk and realized it was just what I needed to read. Some days I wonder if our little nonprofit is making much of a difference in the world…thankfully, the hummingbird answered my question.
“One day an elephant saw a hummingbird lying on its back with its tiny feet up in the air. “What are you doing?” asked the elephant.

The hummingbird replied, I heard the sky might fall today, and so I am ready to help hold it up, should it fall.”

The elephant laughed cruelly. Do you really think,” he said, “that those tiny feet could help hold up the sky?”

The hummingbird kept his feet up in the air, intent on his purpose, as he replied, “Not alone. But each must do what he can. And this is what I can do.”

By Ann Yanchura

Worlds of Words is a nonprofit out of U of Arizona whose mission is to build bridges across global cultures through children and adolescent literature. Sound familiar? That’s why A to Z applied for a grant from this organization and have been awarded money to support three middle school book clubs here in Crystal Lake. These students are reading and discussing multicultural literature together, then sharing these books with first graders at one of our elementary buildings. I wish you could have seen our first reading visit last week: middle school and first grade students huddled over books, reading, laughing and learning. These book clubs are led by A to Z volunteers who work for the school district; we are grateful to the schools, teachers and administrators of D47 for their support of this literacy partnership. In addition, we will be sharing our learning and the books with the teachers of Chisiko School in Chumba Valley, one of A to Z’s partners in Zambia. This project will last all school year, so stay tuned for more information!

By Anastasia Gruper

Recently after presenting for the Crystal Lake Dawnbreakers Rotary, a member of the Rotary, Fred Rajan, asked A to Z to share our mission with a group of nurses at Good Shepherd Hospital. It became quite apparent during the presentation that nurses and teachers are very similar; both posses the passion to make positive changes in the world.
The nurses plan to do a book drive during the holiday season and have generated other ideas for helping the cause including a fundraiser to assist with providing lunch at one of our focus schools in Zambia.
Many of their ideas will come to fruition on Tuesday, December 4th as Good Shepherd Hospital will host a book drive like none ever seen before. In fact, Santa will make an appearance to read with the children attending the event!

By Jorian Lewke

As I was getting ready this morning, I had my music blasting as always. About halfway through my morning routine, John Mayer’s Waiting on the World to Change came on. I knew all the words and sang along as I always do. I love music, but I love words more and the power that they have, so I end up listen more to the lyrics and the meaning behind them then the actual tune of a song. The song starts out with:

“Me and all my friends
We’re all misunderstood
They say we stand for nothing and
There’s no way we ever could”

and ends with:

“It’s not that we don’t care,
We just know that the fight ain’t fair
So we keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change”

I guess I can see where he is coming from. I think he’s talking about the younger generation of which I am part of (I’m 17). But I just can’t see how waiting is a plausible option. If we wait for the world to change, who is changing it? There are things that we need to work on NOW. No need to wait. It also seems like people just give up because this “changing the world” business seems complicated, so why try? My personal answer to this question came from a writing assignment from my eighth grade teacher. It was something along the lines of “What do you want to do with your life” and I remember really having a hard time answering it. I ended up saying, “I just want to change people’s worlds. I don’t know if I can change the world, but maybe I can change individual people’s worlds.” And newsflash, we can all do that. By changing one person’s life, you create a ripple effect that eventually touches (and changes) the whole world.

This past weekend, Mal Keenan gave me the opportunity to do just that – change individual people’s worlds. I had the honor of running A to Z’s book give-a-way station at Immanuel Lutheran Church’s “Clinic.” It is truly an amazing day to be a part of. Immanuel gathers general physicians, eye doctors, photographers (for family portraits), barbers and dentists to give the less fortunate folks in our area the opportunity to take advantage of all of these services for free. Later in the day, a food truck comes and folks are able to leave with groceries free of charge as well. Last year was A to Z’s first year participating, and I hope we continue to. We are one of the last stations and we have the honor of giving kids books to take home. The smile on their faces when we say, “take as many as you want!” is unforgettable. My favorite moments are when adults come and want to take books for their kids Christmas or birthday presents. It’s one thing to make a kids day by giving them books, but to know you are also making some kids have gifts to open on their birthday or on Christmas morning is priceless. I believe we set up eight or nine boxes of books and left with one small box. Proof that we made an impact! I truly hope A to Z continues to help at this incredible community event and I know Mal and this organization will continue to make ripples of change in the world through the gift of literacy.

Peace!

By Kalan Gott
If you have ever watched a young child around books you know there is this innate curiosity for the pictures and words held on the pages. It is almost as if all children start with this need to read. Like hunger or thirst, a child’s need must be met to keep him or her healthy in his or her literacy life. As adults and mentors we can feed that need by sharing our love of literacy and by allowing children the freedom to explore their interests. To me it seems like the only element that eventually destroys a love for reading is when as adults we send the message that a child is not good enough as a reader. We tell them that they don’t read like their peers, they are where they should be, they didn’t score high enough, and they must indulge in what we like. They are refused the rich texts that meet their dietary needs. There is and I in literacy. Readers are individuals and if we remember that and bend to their literary cravings then that innate need will once again take over and love of literacy will bloom.

As we have always done in the past, A to Z likes to share our work in Zambia by creating a quick video for your viewing pleasure. Hope you enjoy it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09H3y_Kb5ro&feature=plcp

Do you know about Little Free Libraries? If not, take a minute to check out their website. http://www.littlefreelibrary.org/index.html

The mission of Little Free Libraries is very much like our mission – to promote literacy and the love of reading, and the concept is very simple – take a book and leave a book. Yesterday I visited two Little Free Libraries  in Madison, Wisconsin and had the greatest time choosing books to bring home.

By Kalan Gott

You know you are irreplaceable. There is something about your weight in my hand, the sound of each page as I eagerly turn it waiting to see what you hold in store, the sense of accomplishment I feel when I see the pages on the right side are significantly less than those on the left, indicating I am close to the end. Book you are comfort by a fire when the rain pelts the windows. You are advice and guidance in any area of life. You are a vacation from reality and an adventure into possibility. You are nourishment for my mind and encouragement for my imagination. Despite the state of the world or economy with you in my hand I have never felt richer. You are the greatest gift. A gift every man, woman, and child deserves. Let’s share the wealth!

By Anastasia Gruper

The beginning of August brought the start of our new school year. While building schedules, analyzing data, collaborating with my teammates, and preparing the building, my excitement for new learning and new beginnings grew. The teachers were the first to return; that’s always my favorite time: swapping amazing adventures from the summer break. The students followed shortly after in the same manner. As we are into the swing of things, I find myself constantly reflecting on the similarities and differences between Africa and the U.S. There are so many cultures, educational philosophies, political systems, and economic systems to learn. There are experiences and knowledge to be had and shared. As we prepare our students today for a global economy in the future, my hope is their literacy skills will be strong enough to build sustaining communities globally

By Kalan Gott

“Poverty does not mean the inability to succeed. It means a child/family doesn’t have money.” This is a quote from Cynthia “Mama J” Johnson. She presented to a huge group of new teachers for an orientation I attended. After hearing this all of my thoughts turned to Zambia and the poor students sitting in our classrooms here in the United States. I thought about all of the challenges students, parents, and educators face throughout the school year. It amazes me that despite the challenges it really comes down to this idea Mama J shares. Poverty does not mean the inability to succeed. The families living in poverty are just as eager to learn, just as eager to read, and just as eager for you to believe in them.