Not long ago I was thinking about all the places I squeeze in my reading. I love to read while eating if I’m eating alone. Never do I sit in front of the television without a book on my lap. And I confess, I’m a bathroom reader.

If you’re reading this blog, we know you’re a reader too. Comment below and share with us your favorite place to read.

As the holiday season begins, we hope you would consider supporting A to Z Literacy Movement. A donation to our nonprofit makes a fantastic Christmas gift for any teacher, book lover, or anyone who cares about kids. We will create a personalized A to Z card for you to give to the person explaining how the donation will be spent whether it is for shipping a box of children’s books to a school in Africa, supporting a school lunch program, or helping to fund one of our secondary school students’ scholarships.

Feel free to email us with any questions – mal@atozliteracy.org

As we head into the holiday season, please consider A to Z Literacy Movement when shopping Amazon.com. If you choose A to Z Literacy Movement as your charity of choice, the Amazon Smile project donates a small percentage (5%) of your total sales to our nonprofit organization, and we all know every little bit counts. Signing up is easy and doesn’t take much time. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday on the way, AmazonSmile is a great way to support our mission while getting your holiday shopping done.

Please click on the link below to get started.

#StartWithaSmile at smile.amazon.com/ch/27-0968435 and Amazon donates to A To Z Literacy Movement.

Get ready! This Thursday, November 17th is A to Z Literacy Movement’s first annual Hunger Bowl. The event will take place at Metro Bowl in Crystal Lake. Come anytime between 4:00 and 7:00 with your family or friends to throw a few spares and strikes. Admission is only $20 per person or $40 for your entire family. What a deal and what a great cause to support. We are raising funds for the Shine Reading Academy’s school lunch program and what better way to kick off the Thanksgiving holiday. We sure to hope to see you at Metro! Any questions about the event? Feel free to email mal@atozliteracy.org and she will be happy to answer them.

Thank You Notes

by Betty Trummel

As Jimmy Fallon reads his thank you notes to his audience, we smile and laugh at his jokes. Other real-life thank you notes make us smile as well, and they encourage us to contemplate the message sent by the writer.

I received several very poignant thank you’s at the conclusion of our June trip to Zambia, and I’d like to share those with you. They center around the work A to Z does to provide scholarships to vulnerable students in Zambia.

First, from Jimmy, whose school fees were paid this year as a result of a donation to A to Z Literacy:

“I wrote this note to thank you for paying my school expenses. May you continue with the good heart that you have. You did something that not everyone could do all the way from America, just to help me here in Zambia. I promise you I will work hard at school and get good grades. May God bless you and your family.”

From Winfred (Jimmy’s younger brother, tallest child in the photo): “Thank you very much for what you have done for me and my family. My life was about to get worse. Thank you for taking me back to school and I promise to work hard at school.”

And finally, from one of the mothers, Esther (on the right), who is struggling as a single parent to raise five children: “I want to say thank you for what you have been doing for me and my family. You are really helping me a lot. Please pass my message of appreciation to the families who helped pay my children’s school fees last year. You are giving me the love that a mother gives her children.”

Such gratitude from these three and so many others who face enormous challenges each and every day, and are helped by generous donations to A to Z. Thank you so much to our donors. Your contribution makes a difference in lives locally and globally.

By Pat Kelly

I was walking behind a group of students today when one of them dropped a book and a eyeglasses case. When I told her I’d pick them up (her arms were loaded with school supplies), the girl graciously accepted. I set the glasses case and a copy of Charlotte’s Web precariously on top of her pile and said to the student, “Charlotte’s Web is my absolute favorite book in the world. Are you enjoying it?” The girl told me she was.

How often is it that you run into someone who’s reading the same book you read almost fifty years ago? The sweet interaction between myself and the student is a true affirmation of how first-rate literature is timeless and it truly made my day. Classic children’s books like Charlotte’s Web, Hatchet, and The BFG attract the attention of generations of kids. They have the appeal of characters and plots that anyone in any day can identify with.

A to Z Literacy Movement endeavors to bring the classics and more to the children of the world so that they too can learn, be entertained and inspired.

We are really looking forward to seeing you on Thursday anytime from 4:00 until 8:00 PM at Crystal Lake Brewing for the A to Z fall FUNdraiser.

With our final shipment of 2016 going out in early October, we really need your support to get these last six boxes of children’s books to a small rural school in the Philippines.

There will be games to play, beer to enjoy, and a great time to be had by all for just $20.

Head to the website for tickets or pay at the door.

And as always, thanks so much for supporting our mission and believing in our work.

A Wedding Gift…the gift of schooling

by Betty Trummel

A couple of weeks ago, good friends Lindsay and Joe tied the knot in a celebration of love. They chose to celebrate literacy as well — making a donation to A to Z Literacy Movement in lieu of party favors. As a result of their donation, Jimmy’s school fees (along with books, supplies, etc.) will be paid for the 2017 school year.

The gift of education and literacy…pass it on. Please consider a donation to A to Z Literacy Movement, and in doing so help us provide the gifts of books, literacy, and hope to those who are less fortunate than ourselves, but possess strong determination, dedication to learning, and kindness.

Mark your calendars for Thursday, September 22nd as we will be hosting our second annual Crystal Lake Brewing fundraiser. For those who attended last year, you can count on a C.L. Brewing tasting glass, a tour of the brewery, snacks, and two complimentary tastings all for just $20. New this year, we have added *games* to the mix. While enjoying delicious locally brewed beer, you can play bags, try to ride a bike “Zambian-style”, or solve a puzzle in record time.

As we prepare to send our next shipment of books to a small rural school in the Philippines, A to Z is hopeful you will come out and support our mission of getting into the hands of needy children.

You can buy tickets at the door or you can head to the A to Z website and purchase online.