|
|
| Education 
| | encourages clubwomen to create learning and educational opportunities for themselves and their communities. | |
| A Book a day Keeps Boredom Away This year, our President Bert Alberti chose “A Book-a-Day Keeps Boredom Away” as a special project for the Education Committee. Members were to collect 365 books throughout the Club year and were to present them to the Northwest Regional Library in Coral Springs. Library personnel would then sort the books for use in the library, for distribution to other libraries, or for donation to the “Friends of the Library” for re-sale with proceeds being circulated back into the library’s funds for book purchases. Each contributed book is labeled with a special bookplate that acknowledges the Club’s donation. As of December 2008, GFWC - Coral Springs Woman’s Club has donated over 1,000 books to this cause and donations continue to come in at every meeting! What a wonderful outpouring of generosity we’ve had from our members, from students at Broward College, and from our friends. Books From the Heart As one of our Education projects for 2008-2009, GFWC Coral Springs Woman’s Club has chosen to host book drives for Books From The Heart®, a program of a national non-profit organization called The Heart of America Foundation®. The Heart of America works to ensure that every child has books in their schools and homes, and learns the joy of reading! By supplying underprivileged and needy children with books, at no cost, these children will ultimately have access to greater opportunities in life. To date, we have collected over 500 new or “almost new” books and have distributed them to under-resourced school libraries, to classrooms, and directly into the hands of underprivileged children in our area. Recipients of these books include Paul Turner Elementary School in Lauderhill, FL and Tedder Elementary School in Pompano Beach, FL. Working together with the Heart of America, we can give hope to thousands of deserving local children, simply by giving them a chance – a chance to read and succeed.
 Customized bookplates are placed into each book prior to distribution. Education is Everywhere  As a spin-off of “Literacy in the Laundromat”, this project is intended to provide entertainment and educational opportunities for children (and adults) who must sit for long periods in local Emergency Room waiting areas. Educational materials are placed in decorated tubs and are distributed to local Emergency Rooms. These tubs contain magazines and short stories for all ages as well as activities for children. As with the laundromat project, these materials are not always left behind for others to enjoy. However, we relish in the thought that individuals at home will also benefit from our efforts. Tubs are replaced and/or re-stocked monthly. 
Literacy in the Laudromat Multi-tasking has become such a part of our lives. Sometimes we are “spread so thin” that we don’t have the time we need to spend on supervising our children’s education. With that in mind, GFWC Coral Springs Woman’s Club has committed to “Literacy in the Laundromat”. This is an education committee project in which decorated tubs filled with reading books, activity books, puzzles, coloring books, crayons, pencils, card games, etc. are taken to local laundromats. Educational materials are available for those children who have to tag along while their parents are busy with domestic chores. This not only keeps the children occupied but provides a secret way to promote learning. We have three facilities on board and have so far provided an estimated 100 reading books, 15-20 activity books, 6-8 sets of crayons and/or colored pencils, pencil sharpeners, pencils, approximately 17 decks of card games, and 9-10 puzzles. Needless to say, this project has been a success even if the materials are not left for other children to enjoy. At least the items have been taken home and hopefully will be used by many children – another outgrowth of our project! Read-a-Thon On September 20, 2008, seven GFWC-CSWC members met to participate in the Northwest Regional Library’s Read-a-Thon. President Bert Alberti led off with an explanation of the club’s involvement in the Heifer Project and then gave a synopsis of the book. Sandy Betlach, Joann Black, Sandy Novak, Ruth Ann Gillooly, Patty Grom, and Bonnie Addicott took turns dramatizing passages. At the end of our allotted time, the librarian in charge asked if she could borrow the book and have the Children’s librarian read it again to the youngsters who had arrived after the book reading had started. What a wonderful promotion of the Heifer Project and of our Club!
Read the synopsis below for an understanding of this philanthropic project.
Beatrice’s Goat is the true story of a young Ugandan girl and her family whose lives are impacted by the gift of a female goat from Heifer International. When Beatrice’s mother entrusts the goat’s care to her, she learns it can provide milk for both the family’s own consumption and for sale to the community. The value of the gift is multiplied as the goat bears two offspring. Beatrice carefully saves the money she earns from selling the goat’s milk until it is enough to realize her long-held dream of attending school. According to the book’s Afterword by Hillary Clinton, “It is a heartwarming reminder that families, wherever they live, can change their lives for the better. To do it, they need three things: resources, training, and community support.” The book illustrates how the gift of just one additional resource is multiplied by a family’s hard work, and provides much-needed nutrition as well as a new source of income. 
Bookmarks for Book-Aphiles As an extension of our “A Book-a-Day Keeps Boredom Away” project, bookmarks were made and delivered to several locales. These will serve as reminders of the importance of reading, will be helpful place-holders during reading, and will keep the Coral Springs Woman’s Club name in the public. Deliveries have been made to Borders Bookstore, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, and the “Friends of the Library” kiosk at the Northwest Regional Library in Coral Springs. 
Box Tops for Education The Clip program is a service of general Mills. This program allows members to earn cash for a local school by clipping "Box Tops for Education" coupons from hundreds of participating products | |
|