LSC Officers: President Miriam Coelho Chipp Vice President Jean Leary Treasurer Jerry Mohlenbrok Secretary Linda

Frederick Yaffe Committee Chairs: Public Relations Pam Hanback Membership Trish Wirth-Nugent Speakers Bureau Sara Banks Newsletter Elizabeth Zapata New Learner Outreach Maxine Babel Feature Writer Linda Frederick Yaffe Placer County Library: Director of Library Services Mary George

LSC Update
Literacy Support Council of Placer County
Winter 2012

Renew, Reconnect, Revitalize!

Volunteersareapreciouscommoditytoan organizationsuchastheLiteracy SupportCouncilofPlacerCounty.Itisthetangibleworkbeingdonebyourvol unteers that makes all the difference to the adult learners who benefit from volunteercontributionsoftimeandmoney. The LSC plans to focus time and energy toward the development of more "handson" literacy projects involving our volunteers. Therefore, the board membershavevotedtohavebimonthlybusinessmeetingstogivevolunteer teamsmoretimetoworkonprojectsthatrequirecommitmentoutsideofthe boardroom.In2013,wewillmeetonthe4thTuesdayinJanuary,March,May, July,September,andNovember.Youwillfindthedate,time,andlocationin formationonthelastpageofthispublication! Anyoneinaleadershippositionrevelsinthewords,"...andbesuretoletme knowifIcanbeofassistanceinanyotherway."Agenerouscommunitymem berrecentlycommunicatedthoseexactwordsinanemailtoourBoardregard ing her thoughtful donation of books to our Little Free Library project. We RENEWourcommitmenttocommunityliteracywiththisheartwarmingexam pleofenthusiasm! PALSvolunteers,whilewaitingtobematchedwithlearners,havetheperfect skillsandabilitiestoembracesomeoftheprojectsthatpromoteliteracyinour communities.TheLSCwouldlovetoRECONNECTwithyou.Ifyouhavealready attended a PALS Coach training, and are waiting for an assignment, or just havethenotiontodonatetimetoavolunteertask:
pleasewriteusatlscplacer@yahoo.com post a message to our FB page at Literacy Support Council of Placer

PALS Coordinator Paula R. Westeren

County;or
PlacerAdultLiter acyService(PALS) providesfree,confi dential,oneonone tutoringforEnglish speakingadultswho wishtoimprovetheir readingand/or writingskills.
leaveamessageonmycellphone@5306131785

Weneedyou;weneedyourskills!Thereisnocommitmenttoosmall! TheJanuary22ndmeetingwillbethekickoffforsomeexcitingnewprojects thatareliningup!Wewelcomeyoutobringfreshideasforustoconsider,as well.HelpusREVITALIZE! JoyandpeaceintheNewYear, MiriamCoelhoChipp

Winter 2012

Page 2

Creating a Better Society Through Literacy

Why is literacy important? Literacy is the foundation of learning. Literacy empowers adults to make a better life and world for themselves and their families. Adults who read raise children who read, do better in school and life. Literacy helps families be healthier, support themselves through work, become better citizens, and create a more fair and just society. The Placer Adult Liter acy Service provides people with thetoolstochangetheirlivesby giving them the reading, writing, andbasicmathskillstheyneedto earn a living, stay healthy, and improveourcommunity. We are happy to announce that Style Magazines 2012 Readers Choice Awards have published and PALS placed 2nd in the cate gory of Favorite Tutoring Ser vice. We are truly honored to have been nominated and thank you to everyone who voted! The last few months have been a busy time forthePlacerAdultLiteracyService!Weare excited to have begun revitalizing our pro gramservicesintheLakeTahoearea,specifi cally Kings Beach and Tahoe City. With en Placer County Library Services thusiastic assistance from Anne Greenwood, Kings BeachLibraryBranchMan ager,wehavegenerateda great deal of volunteer reading coach interest and have our first training By Paula R. Westeren PALS Coordinator scheduled for this month. Thenwillcometheexciting processofspreadingthewordto potentialadultlearners! Down the hill, nine new eager reading coaches were trained at the Auburn Library this fall and we hope to have them matched withlearnerssoon!Thespeedat which new learners come into the program dictates how long that may take. Please remember there areothervolunteeroppor tunitiesthatanyonecantakeadvantageof justaskifyouwanttogetbusysooner! Thank you to all of our amazing people who work tirelessly on behalf of adult learners in PlacerCounty:theLiteracySupportCouncilof PlacerCounty,PALSReadingCoaches,Library Administration,andLibrarystaff!

PALS Update

It Takes a Village to Affect Change

ThePlacerCountyLibraryisveryproudofthePALSprogram.ThegenerousnatureoftheRead ingCoachesremindusthatittakesavillagetoaffectchange;thetrustfromtheLearnersshows us what real courage looks like; and the coordination of Library Specialist, Paula Westeren, keepsthingsmovingtowardacommongoalofallpeopleabletoreadandwrite.Thankyoufor theendlesshoursyouhavegiventotheprogram.IftheLibraryistheheartofthecommunity thenourvolunteersareitssoul. MaryGeorge,DirectorofLibraryServices PlacerCountyLibrary

Winter 2012

Page 3

Read to me, Grandpa!

Lewis's twoyearold granddaughter thrust a bookintohishands:"pleasereadmethisstory, Grandpa!" But Lewis was speechless...because hecouldn'tread.Lewisis66yearsold.Adevoted family man, he has worked hard all of his life, harder than most people...because he couldn't read. Telling lies to hide his embarrassing lack ofreadingskillswasawayoflife.Hehadman agedtobluffhiswaythroughhisworkingyears, cleverly charming his workmates and supervi sors. It wasn't easy. Every workday he faced frighteningchallenges.Givenpaperworktoread andsign,he'dtellhisbossheneeded"tolookit overmorecarefully"and"returnitlater,"orhe would ask a coworker, "what does thissay?I'veforgottenmyglasses." During his working years, while his children were growing up, he had found plenty of excuses for his kids when they asked, "Daddy, can you helpmewithmyhomework?"Lewis had put them off every time: "ask your mother to help you," or "my eyesaretired;I'vebeenworkingall day."Butnow,asaretireeslumped inhiseasychairwatchingtelevision, Lewis could not find any more excuses. At that moment, seeing his granddaughter's eager face as she opened the book, he wanted to read to her. He knew that sharing a book would create special grandpagranddaughter memories for her.ThiswasLewis'sdecisivemoment:hewould finallyaskforhelp.Hewouldlearntoread. More than a personal disability for the non reader,societyisheav ily impacted as well. non Nationally, readerscostbillionsof dollars in lack of pro ductivity in the work force, crime, and loss of tax revenue due to unemployment.

A World of Reading

By Linda Frederick Yaffe

Youcanhelpimproveliteracyskillsinourcom munities.Whenyounoticesomeonewithpoor ornonexistentreading,grammar,orspelling skills, gently encourage them to call for help. Tell them they can learn to Oneinfive read at their own pace with conven Americans ient, confidential, oneonone FREE Americanswhose READING HELP from Placer Adult Lit firstlanguageis eracy Service (PALS), a Placer County Library program since 1986. Encour Englishcannot age them to call PALS: 5308864530 read. or 5303203267. Your help as a vol unteerisalwayswelcome. Youcanhelp! AndyoucanhelpbyjoiningtheLiter acy Support Council of Placer County, a non profit 501(c)(3) organization helping PALS "spreadtheword"formorethantwentyyears. Join us as an active member: become a volun teerREADINGBOOSTER.ReadingBoosterssup portPALS:theyorganizeandspeakoutforliter acy. The Literacy Support Council of Placer County is a United Way Partner; give through United Way at your workplace, CA Capitol Re gion,LiteracySupportCouncilofPlacerCounty ID#3061. Or mail your taxdeductible contribu tionsdirectlytotheLiteracySupportCouncilof PlacerCounty,POBox5291,AuburnCA95604 5291; email us at LSCPlacer@yahoo.com; and "Like" us on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/ LSCPlacer. Your gifts help give Placer County adults like Lewisthegiftofreading...andliftuptheirlives, theirfamilies,andourcommunities.

Shockingly, one in five Americans Americans whosefirstlanguageisEnglishcannotread.In California the problem is even more pro nounced: 23 percent of Californians, adults whosefirstlanguageisEnglish,donothavethe skillsneededtocompleteasimpleonepagejob application. Nonreaders come from every age group and socioeconomic background. They mightbesomeoneyouknowwell...oranindivid ualyouaremeetingforthefirsttime.Theinabil itytoreadisahiddenproblem.Itisoftenunno ticed (even by family, friends, or employers).

Winter 2012

Page 4

Digital Literacy Update

TheLibrarysgrantprogram,DigitalLiteracy:The PathwaytoInformationandEnrichment,wasim plemented with much success. From March November 2012, eleven unique classes were de signed and are being implemented in all but threeofour11branches,totalingover40classes held throughoutoursystem.Inaddition,dropin assistanceisofferedweeklyinRocklinandColfax, andmonthlyinKingsBeach.Fifteenamazingvol unteerswererecruitedtoteachclassesandpro vide this oneonone assistance. Rocklin volun teers recently expanded this program to include appointmentmadecomputerassistance. An exciting partnership resulted from our Digital Literacy program. The Library and Area4 Agency on Aging are together offering fourhour Tech Talk for Seniors classes at libraries throughout PlacerCounty,everyothermonththroughAugust 2013. Taught by Area4 staff, this class is a won derful overview of technology for older adults ages60andolder. Although the grant period has ended, the Library is continuing to offer computer classes and provide individual assistance. Winterclassesarecurrentlybeing developed, and plans are being madetocreateajobskillsseriesofclassesinthe spring. Feedback from the community has been very positive. Well over 300 people have partici pated in one of the Digital Literacy programs sincethefirstofMarch,andresultsfromafollow upsurveynotethat74%ofrespondentsacknowl edgedthattheirskillinusingacomputerorcom puterapplicationincreased becauseofattending aPlacerCountyLibrarycomputerclass.Together withPALS,wehavemadestridestowardmeeting ourgoalofcreatingatransliteratecommunity. LisaDale AsstDirectorofLibraryServices PlacerCounty

Little Free Library Update

Peoplewhohaveseriousreadingandwritingdif ficulties (twenty percent of adult Americans whose first language is English and eighty percent of the prison population) are a chal lengetoreach. The Literacy Support Council (LSC)ofPlacerCountysmission is to assist the Placer Adult Lit eracyService(PALS).Therefore, the LSC is proposing to place L i t t l e F r e e L i b r a r i e s (www.littlefreelibrary.org) in locations throughout the county that serve people in needofreadinghelpandinspirenewvolunteers tojointheLSCandsupportPALS. Ourintentistwofold: 1.Providefreebooksthatpeoplecantake,read, return, or pass on to others at freestanding, at tractive,weatherproofboxes. 2.Inadditiontofreebooks,eachboxwillcontain brochures and business cards highlighting PALS freeassistancetohelpadultsimprovetheirread ing and writing skills. Our intent is to reach low functioning and nonreaders through their families and friendswhovisittheLittleFree Libraries. As of the last LSC newsletter distribution, Dave McAfee, with the assistance of Sierra College and local retail mer chants facilitated the con structionofsevenLFLcontain ers. Dave enlisted a variety of loyal stewards to maintain bookdistributionataWomen, Infant, and Children site, the Justice Center lob biesinRosevilleandAuburn,theDutchFlatMu seum, and the Juvenile Detention Center in Au burn.By earlyJanuary,wehope toplace4addi tional containers. Indeed we plan a dedication andcelebrationtorecognizethosewhoarecom mittedtokeepingthisprojectalive!We'llupdate youalongtheway!

Winter 2012

Page 5

Get Involved Join the Literacy Support Council!

Name Address City, State Telephone Zip Code Email Address Yes, please send my newsletter via email:
Please make checks payable and mail to:

BOOSTER MEMBERSHIP LEVELS: Booster Bronze Booster A book is like a garden carried in the pocket. Chinese proverb Silver Booster Gold Booster $10 $25 $50 $75

LITERACY SUPPORT COUNCIL P.O. Box 5291 Auburn, CA 95604-5291

Benefactor In Memory of:

$100+

Memorial Donation

YEAR END DONATION 2012:

TOTAL ENCLOSED:

Please Note: Tax deductible donations in any amount for 2012 should be made
before December 31, 2012. We appreciate your continued support as we work to eliminate illiteracy in Placer County!

WITH GRATITUDE
RENEWING MEMBERS

NEW MEMBERS

Sara OughBENEFACTOR Gloria Becker Miriam Chipp Bill Fawx Lorna Sandberg Bob & Sue Sans Ken & Francine Yorde

Steve & Michele YoungBENEFACTORS Margie BallengerBENEFACTOR Jeannine Woodard Leslie Baldwin Ann Ranlett Joyce Richter Elizabeth Zapata

2013 LSC Meeting Schedule

The Literacy Support Council will hold bi-monthly meetings every FOURTH Tuesday of alternating months as follows:

DATE

LOCATION
Loomis Library Auburn Library Rocklin Library Auburn Library Granite Bay Li brary Auburn Library

January 22nd March 26th May 28th July 23 September 24 November 26

All meetings begin at 1:00 PM

LITERACY SUPPORT COUNCIL OF PLACER COUNTY P.O. Box 5291 Auburn, CA 95604-5291 LSCPlacer@yahoo.com

VISITUSONFACEBOOK! www.Facebook.com/LSCPlacer
ADDRESS LABEL POSTAGE