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Annual Student and Tutor Awards Ceremony
Thank you to everyone who attended our Student and Tutor Awards Ceremony on August 3rd! Over 160 students, tutors, volunteers, board members, and staff attended the event. Student speaker Ricky Bullock and featured speaker James Shields entertained the crowd with inspiring speeches.
 
 
Honors went the following students and tutors:
Exceptional Tutors
Kelley Griffith
Katherine Hodge
(Carla Smith read a tribute to her tutor, Kelly Griffith. Rosa Alonso could not attend but her tribute to Katherine Hodge was read by Student Services Coordinator Micah Guindon.)
Tutors of the Year:
Ray Joye
Ken Titlebaum
Star Students:
Akuol Amol
Hyun Ban
Edith Campbell
Steven Hairston
James Romeo
Kasech Tesfaye
GED Achievers:
Gregory Statom
Tylitha Bennett
Melvin Rogers
Students of the Year:
Dora Lewis
Preskilla Nhier
Thanks again to Cafe Pasta for providing the delicious dinner and to Ganache, Ed McKay's Used Books and More, and Elizabeth's Pizza for providing door prizes.
More photos can be found online at our web site's photo gallery.
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Lincoln Financial Group Supports Reading Connections
 Reading Connections is proud to be the recipient of a grant from the Lincoln Financial Foundation. Lincoln Financial Group, one of the largest employers in Greensboro, proudly supports organizations that strengthen our community. Lincoln Financial Group also provided a team of employee volunteers who helped to assemble supply kits for families participating in our Motheread family literacy program this fall.
The Lincoln Financial Foundation was also a sponsor of our recent conference at Greensboro College. Some of our tutors were able to attend and learn about immigrant and refugee integration, ESOL instruction, and online tools for education. Thanks to all the tutors and community members who attended!
Thanks to Lincoln Financial Group for being a leader for literacy in Guilford County!
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Take the HIGH FIVE Challenge!
 If every person in Guilford County gave just $5, we would have over $2 million dollars to use to fight low literacy in our community!
You can be part of the movement to end illiteracy now! Our goal is to raise $50,000 by 5-5-2010. Now more than ever Reading Connections and our students need your support, donations, and advocacy as we face challenging economic times.
What can I do?
Visit our web site to see what your $5 can do and click the  button.
AND/OR
Forward this email to 5 friends, and ask them to forward it to 5 friends, and each of THEM can forward it to 5 friends, and....well, you get the idea!
What difference can your $5 make?
$5, or $5 a month, or $5 a week...no matter what you give, you can make a difference. $5 will buy a workbook for a student working towards a GED. It will pay for copies of worksheets for an entire class. Or it will pay for an assessment to help a student see how much progress she has made.
The important part is where your $5 meets everyone else's $5...together you make a difference that's more than the sum of its parts. It says our community cares about literacy and wants to do something important together.
So take the HIGH FIVE Challenge today and leave your mark on literacy!
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Wish List Items
If you have been to our offices (see "Take a Tour") you know that Reading Connections makes the most of some pretty tight quarters. We are always looking for ways to improve our organization and make our space a pleasant, useful place for students and tutors.
Here are a few items that could make our space even better!
 A bulletin board for our hallway space would allow us to post classes and resources for students and tutors. We are looking for a large (36"x48" or larger) bulletin board.
 We desperately need 2-4 tall (6-foot) storage cabinets to help contain our growing supply of family literacy materials and other items that currently clutter our back meeting room. The cabinets could be metal, wood, or plastic, new or used, as long as they have doors that close and can hold the substantial weight of books and other items.
If you have items to donate or wish to purchase these items for Reading Connections, please contact Marcy Ray at mray@readingconnections.org. Thank you!
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Take a Tour!
If you haven't attended a Connect with Reading Connections tour yet, you're missing the whole picture! Reading Connections does so much more than one-to-one tutoring!
Come spend an hour with us and find out about the many community outreach programs we offer, hear moving testimonials from students and tutors, and learn about how literacy affects individuals, their families, and the community. Bring your friends so they can learn about how Reading Connections is making a difference and how they can help!
Tours are held at 5:00 p.m. staring in the 5th floor conference room in the Self Help building at 122 N. Elm Street in Greensboro. The tour lasts exactly one hour.
Dates of upcoming tours:
August 18th
September 8th
October 6th
November 3rd
December 1st
If you'd like to reserve a spot on a tour, please contact Marcy Ray at 230-2223 or mray@readingconnections.org.
We are also happy to conduct "virtual tours" at your home, office, or church to help spread the word about the need for literacy services in Guilford County. Contact Marcy Ray to schedule an off-site presentation.
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AmeriCorps: Farewells and Welcomes
 Reading Connections proudly participates in the AmeriCorps program, hiring several interns each year. We are sad to say goodbye to Jen Horton and Justin Green, who are moving on to other opportunities. We wish them the best of luck!
However, we hope you will join us in welcoming our newest AmeriCorps member, Ben Barbour. Ben will be working in the Greensboro office. Please take a moment to introduce yourself the next time you visit!
And we are pleased to welcome back Cynthia Mejia and Nick Foley, who will continue to work in our High Point office. Welcome back, Cynthia and Nick!
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Volunteers Needed for Small Group Classes
Volunteers at the Community Bible Church in High Point have re-started small group classes for ESOL students. The classes meet Sundays from 2 - 3:30 pm at the church which is located at 4125 Johnson Street, High Point, NC 27265. Refugees and immigrants from Ethiopia, the Sudan, Iraq, and other countries are participating this year & they need more volunteer teachers! If you are interested in helping to lead a small group, or filling in as a substitute tutor, this is the opportunity for you!
 We also need volunteers to help teach our Workplace Essential Skills classes in Greensboro. These classes, which use the PBS Workplace Essential Skills series workbooks, help students learn the skills they need to get and keep a job such as improved reading and writing, how to write a resume, interview skills, on-the-job communication, and problem solving. Classes last from 6-12 weeks (depending on frequency).
If you are interested in volunteering for either of these opportunities, please contact Claire Dixon, Program Manager, at cdixon@readingconnections.org or 404-3474.
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Upcoming Tutor Conference
This fall Reading Connections will be holding a conference for all tutors to learn about our new checklists and toolkits and to have an opportunity to discuss tutoring issues with experienced trainers and our Reading Specialist. Be sure to watch your email for more details!
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New Tutor Training Dates
 If you are interested in becoming a tutor, or know someone who is, we have several upcoming training opportunities:
High Point: (Room 5, Millis Health Center, 600 Elm Street)
You must complete all three of these dates to complete the tutor training.
Session 1: August 20 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Session 2: August 24 5:30pm – 8:30pm
Session 3: August 27 5:30pm - 8:30 pm
Greensboro: (8th Floor Conference Room, Self Help Building, 122 N. Elm Street)
You must complete one orientation session and both training sessions to complete the training.
Tue Sep 8
| Orientation |
September 8 |
5pm – 6pm |
Thu Sep 17
or |
September 17 |
6pm – 7pm |
Tue Sep 22
| Session 1: |
September 22 |
6pm – 8:30pm |
Thu Sep 24
| Session 2: |
September 24 |
6pm – 8:30pm |
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Student Council
The August meeting for Greensboro's Student Council will be held Tuesday, August 18 from 5:30-7:00 pm in the 8th Floor Conference Room. This meeting will feature speakers from Parents Supporting Parents, a parent group working with Guilford County Schools to advocate for their children. Please encourage your students to attend!
Please contact Micah Guindon at mguindon@readingconnections. org or call 230-2223 if your student would like to be involved.
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