Readers Ramble

SPRING is in the air, the last frost of winter is beginning to melt, and soon the trees will begin to bloom.  Along with the warm spring weather, comes the task of Spring cleaning.  In the process of Spring cleaning, you can help others by giving away your old, unwanted and used items lying around the house and help the local community.  There are many local organizations collecting items, and it is a free and easy task that benefits you by getting rid of the old, as well as helping the needy.

As a Non-profit Organization that teaches locals the importance of reading and improves low-level literacy skills, the Literacy Council of St. Joseph County are always looking for donations for old and gently used books.  Drop off your used books to one of the BetterWorld Books green drop-off bins that directly benefit us.  They can be found at local Notre Dame Credit Union locations.

To find out new updates and events happening at the Literacy Council, find us on Facebook and become a Fan of our page!

As the weather continues to take a much-welcomed cool front, one can sense the excitement in the air.. of friends, family, memories, and of course, Notre Dame Football.  People of all ages come to gather from far and wide for one this cause – to celebrate and support our Irish tradition.

Similarly, there is excitement in the air here at the Literacy Council! Workshops and Fall classes will begin soon, which is always exciting. To learn more about the workshops and classes available, visit our website.

In addition, as details continue to be finalized and set for our Murder Mystery Dinner on Saturday, October 2, our excitement for the event is also growing. Furthermore, there will be an Open Book Festival earlier that day at the St. Joseph County Public Library. To learn more about these events, click here.

P.S. Best of luck to our boys this weekend as they take on Purdue!

Go Irish! Beat Boilermakers!

Well, the book fair went off without a hitch! It was wonderful! The children loved being read stories from Health Works and other local children authors. Other entertainment such as the dancers from the Flint Dance Studio managed to attract attention, throughout the entire mall, with their wonderful dance routines. We also had a nice booth set up by the mall entrance which hosted an array of local adult authors ready to sign their books for those interested. Overall, it was a very productive day and we have a lot of St. Joseph County citizens to thank for that.

Next on our agenda… stay tuned to find out!

Good afternoon everyone!

The fantastic weather just shouts “come read outside!”

Well, plans are slowly formulating for our July 17^th book fair. Make sure you come out and get a few new books and join in on all the fun activities we have in store. People of all ages are welcome!

A few of you might be interested to know that the newsletters were not sent out last week, according to our original plan. I regret to say that there were a few small misunderstandings but you should all be receiving them this week. Again, we’re so sorry for the delay.

Also, we have relocated and our new address and numbers to reach us can be found on our website at: stjoereads.org

Today I’ll leave you with a question… would you like to suggest any good books you’ve read lately and why they were so captivating?

Good morning everyone! The storm was pretty hectic last night, but it gave me a good chance to catch up on my reading. Since we were one of the lucky ones whose power didn’t go off, I didn’t have to read by candlelight, but still, it felt comfy and cozy. I hope you all stayed safe and made it without any big catastrophes.

The news for today is that we have one more follower on our Twitter @ReadersRamble page. It’s exciting to get new people interested in the Literacy Council and each new person is worth celebrating. Please, if you haven’t already, check us out on Twitter. It would be very much appreciated!

Also, yesterday was the first time someone commented on our Readers Ramble Blog! It was so exciting to find out someone was actively participating on our blog! So a huge shout out and a big “THANK YOU”!

Just as a reminder to mark your calendars, on July 17^th we’re having a book fair at the local Barnes & Noble. Plans for entertainment for all age groups are already in full swing. We hope to see many familiar faces and some new ones. Before you come though, make sure you print off our voucher on our website. Just visit: www.stjoereads.org

That’s about it for today.

Stormy weather is the best time to curl up with a good book and read your cares away. So go find a good book and get started reading!

I noticed that we haven’t been getting any comments on our blogs. I’m hoping that it’s because people are shy, instead of it being because we don’t have anyone following the blogs. However, if that is the case then I don’t blame you because the newsletters haven’t come out yet informing you of our Readers Ramble blog. Anyways, I’m excited to see what any of you have to say about tutoring or the Literacy Council in general. So please, write us a comment!

As for a little sneak peek into our new Book Club, I’m excited to say that I’ve read most of Anne of Green Gables and it’s spectacular. It hits all the right notes by making you want to cry, being anxious over Anne’s outrageous schemes or hysterical laughter when her plans backfire. It’s a great book and I’m hoping some of you would like to join Anne on her adventures by joining our Book Club.

Well, I think I’ve said enough to keep you on the edge of your seat in anticipation for my next blog. So, see you later!

Hi everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend and a wonderful Father’s Day!

I just thought you’d like to know some of the “going-ons” at the Literacy Council. Well, we’ll start with the biggest news first: VOTE for us at Better World Books and helps us get the $20,000 grant application for adult tutoring! http://www.betterworldbooks.com/voting.aspx

Another big piece of news is that we’re having a Barnes & Noble book fair on July 17^th. It would mean so much to us and our programs if people showed up in car loads, so get your engines revving in anticipation! Already we have: Flint Dance, Health Works, and a few other surprise entertainers up our sleeves.

This week our tutor and student newsletters should have made their way into everyone’s mailboxes, so make sure you read them for the latest Literacy Program updates. Also, a little piece of significant information that wasn’t mention is that we have created a Book Club! The first book on our agenda to read is Anne of Green Gables. If you’re interested in signing up, just email me at: marketing@stjoereads.org

That’s all for today folks!

         Our Links for Literacy Golf outing was a success! We managed to gain a nice amount of funding and the experience needed to make next year’s golf outing go off without a hitch. The lucky winners were the MutualBank team: Jim Sanders, Scott Taylor, Mike Portolese, and Tim Boenne. Although, it was such a beautiful day to golf, I think everyone secretly felt like winners! Thanks to many generous community businesses we were able to hand out great prizes to everyone. Make sure you join next year’s golf outing to get in on all the fun and prizes!

     Also, another shout out for our July 17^th book fair. It’s taking place at the local Barnes and Nobles and a percentage of the purchases will be given to the Literacy Council. It would be great to get a lot of participation for this event, because so much hard work is going into it. As of right now, we have Clifford the Big Red Dog coming in to read to the kids. No worries though, we have more fun up our sleeves. You’ll just have to read our next blog to find out what more is in store.

You’re invited to discuss the effects, successes and challenges of low literacy skills in our community!