Literacy Month
Posted by Linda Schuyler
on Mar 01, 2014
In the Rotary World, the month of March has been designated as Literacy Month.
Stay tuned for upcoming information on our grant application to purchase books for
the St. Marys Public Library and provide a unique way of thanking our guest speakers.
Update: Our grant application has been approved. The Collections Officer at the Library is gathering books for the Literacy Committee to review for purchase for the Rotary Collection. She has recently attended a book fest where many new books are released for library selections.
April 30, 2014 District Grant Update-the grant monies have been received, the books have been ordered and we have paid for the books....now we have to be patient and wait for the books to arrive.
Please read the letter submitted to the District Literacy Chair, Sue Storie by club Literacy Committee
Chair, Linda Schuyler on behalf of our club. It's titled "Literacy in St. Marys is Alive and Well".
Literacy in St. Marys is alive and well! (2013-2014 Rotary Year)
We have completed 10 Literacy activities and have several others at various stages. We want to share with you one of those activities.
One thing that our literacy committee noticed was that we always gave a pen, a mug or a specially designed shopping bag. We felt that most people have lots of mugs and pens and to receive another didn't necessarily convey the thank you that we intended. Besides making a cash donation each year to the Library, we used to also provide annual magazine subscriptions. The latter practice has been discontinued. Instead, we decided to make a book donation in honour of our guest speakers as a way of thanking them for sharing their story with our club. On the evening that our guest speaker presents their story, one of our members thank them and tells them that we will donate a book in their honour. The speaker is always pleased and surprised by our thoughtful donation.
At the beginning of the Rotary year, the committee gave our Library information about Rotary's six areas of focus and they provided us with several lists of possible book titles. The committee selects a book that matches our speaker with an area of focus. As Chair, I then contact the library and request that they order this book and once received the library emails me a picture of the cover of the book selected together with a picture of the bookplate (see pictures). I then send a formal thank you along with a picture of the book cover and bookplate to confirm that we have indeed followed through on our promise.
This gesture makes our club members feel good about not giving another token gift which appeared as though no one had given much thought to the gift. Our guest speakers feel good and are impressed about the trouble we have taken to express our appreciation to them. Our library appreciates our donations of books which helps them increase their collections with updated and relevant book titles.
It truly is a win....win...win...situation.
Our story continues....While attending a District Leadership Meeting, I learned that the District still had US $200 available in District Grant money. I immediately put together a grant proposal and submitted it. We had to change our practice of purchasing a book each week to buying the books in bulk. We spent $686 resulting in 35 books and 6 DVDs being purchased for the St. Marys Public Library. Our committee now has a master list of the books/DVDs available which have been broken down into specific area of focus and age appropriateness. We will work from this list to match the book/DVD title to the guest speaker. We will now be able to thank our guest speaker and advise him/her of the book/DVD we have selected for their recognition. I will notify the Library of the book/DVD selection and they will email me with a picture of the book cover and the bookplate. We will continue our practice of sending a formal thank you along with a copy of the book/DVD cover and bookplate.
These books/DVDs will be a lasting reminder of the donation that our club has made to the St. Marys Public Library and the high regard we place on our guest speakers and literacy for our community.
Remember that even small District grant requests can have a big impact on your community.
Linda Schuyler
Literacy Committee Chair
Rotary Club of St. Marys