Category Archives: Local Outreach

A to Z’s East Coast Connection

By Betty Trummel

Since I moved from Crystal Lake to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, I’ve been thinking about ways to get involved with my “new” community.  What was I passionate about supporting back home in Illinois?  What can I do to better my community no matter where I live?  Of course, my involvement and connection with A to Z Literacy Movement has been extremely important to me since our organization began.  I felt there was no reason not to bring this important work with me when I moved to the East Coast.  In the brief time, I’ve lived on Cape Cod, I have been excited about creating new possibilities for literacy!

During this holiday season, a wonderful opportunity developed for A to Z Literacy to partner with my local school in Harwich, Massachusetts and the Family Pantry of Cape Cod on a successful book drive!

Over 1,200 books were donated by Harwich Elementary School! Over 300 NEW books went into holiday toy/gift bags given out on December 17th at the Family Pantry.

900+ books went right into the “boutique” at the Family Pantry, where folks can choose books when they come to get food and clothing.

bags and books

About 35 nonfiction books will be taken with me when I travel to Zambia next July…to be used in instruction and donated to the library at Shine Zambia Reading Academy.

books

I’m feeling great about the generosity of so many…thank you Harwich Elementary School for your fabulous effort with the book drive!  Thank you to the Family Pantry of Cape Cod for welcoming me and being open to creating this partnership.  Our nonprofit strives to get books into the hands of vulnerable children, whether it is through local or international projects.  Thank you A to Z Literacy, for having such a profound impact on my life both personally and as an educator.

No matter where we all live, it’s easy to find ways to support others, during the holiday season and all year long.  Happy Holidays, wherever you are!

Another Summer School Book Fair

A to Z Literacy Movement had the privilege to host another local book fair this morning at Coventry Elementary School in Crystal Lake. Over one hundred students in grades first through fifth came to check out the selection of free books and then choose a few for their home libraries.

As we strive to meet our 2016 goals, A to Z will continue to provide books for children in McHenry County and other parts of Illinois in hopes in making a difference locally by promoting the love of reading and increasing literacy levels.

Looking Back at 2015

annual report 2015

“Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope.” – Kofi Annan

With the holidays over and the January deep freeze settling in, A to Z is proud to look back at 2015 and celebrate many accomplishments. As you view our annual report above, you’ll notice we shipped 57 boxes of children’s books to four different countries in 2015 while donating 27 boxes to local groups in here McHenry county. That’s about 6,000 books in all!  88% of contributions to our nonprofit went to program expenses which included funding for four Zambian student scholarships, six months of school lunch, professional development for over 150 Zambian teachers, and a yearly salary for one teacher. A to Z is grateful to you for continuing to believe in our mission and we are humbled with your generosity. We believe books provide the “what can be…” in life for so many children in impoverished communities, helping them to see the world through different lenses. Without you, we would not be able to promote the love of reading and increase literacy levels around the world. Thank you. Thank you! Thank you.

Just How Many Boxes?

As 2015 wraps up, A to Z Literacy Movement wanted to share a few numbers and a bit of information about the boxes of children’s books we shipped and gave away this year.
Globally: 57 boxes of books made their way to Zambia, Ghana, Swaziland, and the Dominican Republic.
Locally: 27 boxes of books were shared with children in McHenry County.
Without your generous and continued support, we could not have donated the 84 boxes of children’s books to schools, churches, and other nonprofits who are working to increase the love of reading in children. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Summer Clean Out + Garage Sale Season = Savers Drop Off

   

Attention A to Z Literacy supporters- we want your junk! Don’t forget the Savers store in Crystal Lake has designated us as their pilot non-profit for their “Choose Your Cause” promotion. What this means is that anytime you bring a donation to Savers thrift store and mention A to Z Literacy Movement, they weigh the poundage you  donate and pay us per pound! Bring your garage sale leftovers, your outgrown summer gear, your college bound teen’s odds and ends.  This is an ongoing promotion- keep us in mind whenever you have goods to pass along. Sorry, furniture, tires and liquids cannot be counted toward our fundraising promo.

Thanks so much for your help and for spreading the word.

Calling All Clutter!

We are excited to announce our second Spring clutter drive!  Last year’s Savers drive was a success (2.5 TONS of our used items went to Savers!), and we hope that with your help, that this year we’ll donate even more.

4rs_xerox

Thank You to All Who Attended Trivia Night!

Our 2nd Trivia Night was a blast.  Don’t miss out on the fun next year!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Making Connections: English Language Arts Units of Study and A to Z Literacy Movement

The following post was originally published on Betty Trummel’s classroom blog, which you can find at http://home.d47.org/hus/eatrummel/.

In keeping with our current theme in the Unit of Study and our story entitled “My Librarian is a Camel” we are learning more about how children around the world get books.  Today I spoke with the entire fourth grade about a local non-profit organization called A to Z Literacy Movement.  I have been involved with A to Z for about 5 years now, and our key mission is getting books into the hands of impoverished children in Zambia, Africa. (as well as other places and also here locally)  

Check out:  www.atozliteracy.org  for photos, video clips, and more information.  The students all wanted to DO something after hearing about children in Zambia and the work of A to Z Literacy Movement.  

We have decided to do several things:  

1) We’d like to collect gently used books to send to the students at two schools (lower level books, no “western” world themes, yes to nonfiction and picture books, and also to easy fiction).  

2) We’d like to collect change…all of the coins we can (or any money donation), to use toward shipping the books to Zambia and/or school supplies for the students.  

3)  Some children expressed an interest in collecting/donating school supplies, since children in some areas in Zambia rarely even have a pencil of their own.  Supplies most needed are pencils, larger erasers or pencil-top erasers, hand-held pencil sharpeners, and boxes of 12 colored pencils.  I will gather these items in my classroom, and they will be taken to Zambia in June.  

4)  Many students expressed an interest in creating their own books to share with students in Zambia.  I had shown the group several examples of books I self-published on Apple/Mac that I either wrote with the children I taught in Zambia or wrote with students in my class here at Husmann.  Go for it!  It would be fun to have more books written by our Husmann students!  

Here are a couple of the books I’ve done…

Zambia, Zambia What Do You See ABC's of Husmann

Here are a few photos that depict what it’s like in the areas where A to Z Literacy has worked in Zambia.

DSC_0166 DSC_0209 IMG_1479 IMG_1484 IMG_1489 IMG_5918 IMG_1562 IMG_0836 IMG_1347

You Are Invited!

A to Z would love to have you and your friends join us for our annual FUNdraiser on Saturday, February 21st at 7:00 pm. Trivia Night will consist of three rounds of trivia with live auctions in between. Tables seat between six and eight people, so get a group together, or feel free to come in pairs and join a friendly table of A to Z supporters.

Last year folks had a blast – the perfect way to cure your cabin fever.
Head to the website to buy your tickets and let us know who will be joining you.

www.atozliteracy.org

Trivia Promo Card_2015-page-0

Freshened up for the New Year

screenshot

With 2015 almost here, A to Z Literacy Movement is excited to share our updated website, www.atozliteracy.org, with you. A huge thank you goes out to Stephanie Brown, one of the A to Z’s founders, for helping us to create a more friendly and informative site for folks to visit. The new site looks fantastic, and we think you will definitely enjoy clicking around to see some new pictures in the photo gallery, find ways to donate time, and read about who we help in Zambia as well as here in McHenry County.

As always, we will continue to publish the A to Z blog for you to enjoy, but look forward to sharing current events on the home page more consistently and hope supporters share the site with friends and family.