By: Julie Carson – Founder of Woods Creek Cares
We don’t always know the whole story… but we are called to obey and pray. That is where this story begins…
On Sunday, May 3rd a group of us from Woods Creek Cares met with Mal & Betty from A to Z Literacy Movement. A group of 15 total families who decided to sponsor a family and assist a school in Africa came together to share love across the world. As we watched the videos and ate African inspired snacks, colored bookmarks and picked out books for the Zulu family, an ordinary Sunday afternoon became the beginning of an opportunity to open our eyes to the world and experience God’s transforming love and power.
So here we are— a group of families in the Chicago suburbs ready to share love, excited to see how the connections God brought together will serve Him across the globe. We are eager to connect with the Zulu family and hear how God is working in their lives, and wondering how this will impact our own children’s hearts as we pray for them and share our lives together.
An exciting new story, all for God’s Glory!
{Woods Creek Cares is a parent-initiated organization from Woods Creek Elementary in Crystal Lake that serves the community through service projects and lifts up the school, staff and students up in prayer. To find out more about their events and meetings, e-mail woodscreekcares@gmail.com or find them on Facebook under “Woods Creek Cares”}.
6 Boxes of Books made it to the Dominican Republic
Sometimes, when you ask, you receive. Cristy learned that when she contacted us a few months ago:
Hi, my name is Cristy Kinahan, Sandy Kinahan’s daughter. My mom told me about your organization recently and that you might be able to send books to the school I am currently teaching at in the Dominican Republic. Of course I would need to talk with our school directors but please let me know if there is anything I need to or can do in order to make this a possibility. I teach at Saint David School in the city of Santiago. It is a bilingual school for students from three years old through high school. I teach American curriculum to first and second graders. This year has definitely been a blast and an amazing experience. Though I have learned so much, it also has made me grateful for the ample amount of resources that were available to me growing up in District 47. Because the school has split curriculum between Dominican and American, our English resources are limited. Any donation would be helpful, these students are energetic to learn the language and better their lives. I have seen your organizations website and love the incredible things you are doing in Zambia to help those students in need. I hope that extending your good wills to the Dominican Republic is a possibility as well.
After a few weeks of back and forth, the A to Z team decided to send a shipment of books. Here’s the response:
Mal,
The books arrived yesterday!!!! We are so excited! It was also my director’s birthday and “Dia del Libro” so it was perfect! Wow, we cannot thank you enough, these books are amazing and I cannot believe how many there are and in such great condition! My director and I presented the books to the school today and they are on display in our tiny library. Though they cannot be checked out until all are stamped and registered, classes are invited to visit and see all of your amazing donations. I took my first graders today and they had a blast! We let them explore different picture books and then did a couple read alouds, they were amazed and so excited! I also had a few sixth graders take a peek and they found some interesting texts as well. Our school is so incredibly grateful for your efforts and generosity, we cannot express it enough. I have attached a few pictures I took today of my students. We will update you further on our excitement and joy but I just wanted to send you a quick message to let you know that we received the six packages!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Cristy
My Librarian is a Camel
By Betty Trummel
Recently I shared excerpts from “My Librarian is a Camel” with my class as part of our literacy instruction at Husmann Elementary School. What a wonderful reminder of how people around the world, especially in small corners and remote places, value books and reading. It certainly makes me reflect on the mission of A to Z Literacy Movement…to get books into the hands of impoverished children. Whether it’s by boat, camel, donkey cart, or elephant, the fact that people are creative in how books are brought to children puts a smile on many faces world-wide.
The author of the book, Margriet Ruurs, stated: “From Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe, I discovered people who are passionate about books and who understand the importance of libraries in our lives.”
So true, Margriet, and right now I’m thinking of the library we helped create at Shine Zambia Reading Academy located in the compounds just outside of Lusaka, Zambia. I can just imagine the students there enjoying the books we’ve shipped to them and the games we’ve brought to the school while on our teaching trips.
Smiles, lots of happy children, learning every day. Happy to be a part of this wonderful organization…A to Z Literacy.
Dreaming of a Library: Just Imagine
By Anastasia Gruper
Recently a teacher sent me this link: http://harpercollinschildrens.tumblr.com/post/91477159938/17-creative-childrens-libraries
Imagine the excitement and joy a child would have if the space they were able to read, write and tell stories in took them to another place and time. Imagine the stories people could create surrounded by such creativity. Imagine the desire people would have to visit the land of books. It’s time for a road trip.
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.
A to Z 2014 Annual Report
We are proud of the work we did in 2014, which wouldn’t have been possible without your support. Please take a minute to check out our 2014 Annual Report:
Finding Ways to Ship Books
It’s that time of year: Spring. And with the season comes the dreaded but rewarding duty: Spring Cleaning. Why not triple the reward: clean out your house, donate your goods to a worthy cause, and raise money for A to Z.
Savers, located at 230 West Virginia, makes donating your gently used items easy. Simply drive your car through the drive up and an employee will meet you at your car to take your items. Just mention that you are supporting A to Z and they will also donate money to help us support our number one goal: shipping books to the impoverished areas of Africa.
Thank You to All Who Attended Trivia Night!
Our 2nd Trivia Night was a blast. Don’t miss out on the fun next year!
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…
Here are a few photos that depict what it’s like in the areas where A to Z Literacy has worked in Zambia.
You + Fundraiser = Yearly Goals Met
Time is ticking and ticket sales have been way down for Trivia Night.
Saturday, February 21st is coming fast and we’re worried about our annual A to Z fundraiser.
Got a party of four? Great! We’d love to have you come out and enjoy the evening. Party of six? Sure! We’ve got a spot for you, too.
This is our one chance to raise enough money to meet our yearly goals which include: shipping books to impoverished schools, providing funds to cover the cost of school lunch, and helping to support teacher salaries at a small school in Zambia.
Please head to the website to purchase your tickets and we look forward to seeing you Saturday night at the Park Place in Crystal Lake. www.atozliteracy.org
A to Z Literacy Movement Blog 