Reading is power. The power to escape a horrible situation through the inspirational journey of a hero or heroine. The power to travel to new worlds, learn new languages, and engage in new adventures. It is the power to fall in love with people you have never met. It is the power to agree and disagree with friends, family, and perfect strangers. The power to create new avenues of the thinking and journey down them. The power to spread knowledge. When we teach others to read we give them the power to become innovators, imagineers, and critical thinkers. When we teach people to read we can them the power to rise above the their means. Reading is power. Share it!

Last Saturday, you came out to celebrate our mission. You brought your friends and neighbors. You had fun bidding on auction items and tasting wine. Because of you, we successfully raised over $9,000 last Saturday at our big event. Thank you!

One of the things that has been so inspiring about my work and connection with A to Z Literacy, is realizing the power we have to make a difference. Sharing my photos, stories, and the book I wrote with the students at Shine Zambia, with the friends in the book club I belong to here in Crystal Lake, motivated all of us in the club to help pay for a teacher at Shine for one year. My friends in book club and my sorority sisters have been so generous and supportive. I know if other book clubs wanted to do something directly related to the reason we all get together…to share literacy and our love of reading…then donating to A to Z Literacy is a perfect way to support literacy in Africa and also here in McHenry County. We can all make a difference!

Mark your calendars for Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 7:00 pm.

Invite a few friends to join in the fun.

Get ready to celebrate another season of A to Z.

Head to the website for more details.

http://www.atozliteracy.org/

Thank you, Marie Brandell, for creating another A to Z video. Your compassionate heart and artistic talent help to spread the word.

My focus

My inspiration

My reward

Noticing everything on the page

Discovering new ideas

Enjoying the magic of a book

Students ready to learn.

Teachers dedicated to their profession.

Both working to meet a common goal = Increasing the love of literacy

I wanted to send you pictures of the students that have benefited so much from the donation of books. I have started a reading club so the kids can read and have fun when they are out of school for holidays. The executive committee for the community school was so thankful. We continue to work on making the school better and have been trying to receive funding for the school. The community is keeping hope alive and reaching out to other organizations. It is a very long process.