[D9640general] [eFlash_Rotary] Digest Number 602

[Garry & Anne Krischock]

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  1. 1219: One district's campaign for literacy From: Sunil K Zachariah 
Message 
  1. 1219: One district's campaign for literacy 
  Posted by: "Sunil K Zachariah" sunilkzach at yahoo.co.uk   sunilkzach 
  Mon Sep 11, 2006 1:50 am (PST) 
  One district's campaign for literacy

  By Tonya Weger 
  Rotary International News 

  With about 260 different literacy projects during the past year, 
  Rotary International District 5450, (northern Colorado, USA), is 
  empowering people through education.

  Literacy is the foundation for virtually all forms of education and 
  an essential component of poverty reduction, social inclusion, and 
  economic development. Despite the importance of literacy, more than 
  800 million people are unable to read or write in the world today, 
  and 64 percent of these people are women and girls.

  Rotarians are encouraged to participate today in International 
  Literacy Day (sponsored by the International Reading Association, 
  with whom RI has a Board-approved cooperative relationship), and in 
  Rotary Literacy Month next March.

  Over the next year, RI President Bill Boyd's Literacy Resource Group 
  will raise awareness of literacy issues and encourage Rotary clubs 
  to undertake literacy projects both at home and abroad.

  Following are some of the district's successful projects:

  Denver Kids Inc.
  In 1946, the Rotary Club of Denver started Denver Kids Inc. (DKI) by 
  collaborating with Denver public schools to support children at 
  risk. Sixty years later, the club remains a primary sponsor for the 
  project, working with 800 highly at-risk students to achieve a high 
  school graduation rate of 85 percent. DKI provides necessary 
  mentoring, tutoring, and counseling for these children and helps 
  them get into college.

  Critical-thinking skills 
  Villa Park, a neighborhood in west Denver, has a high school 
  graduation rate of 13.3 percent. The Rotary Club of Denver Mile High 
  is partnering with the Villa Park Neighborhood Association, two 
  public elementary schools, and a local Catholic school to transform 
  Villa Park to a neighborhood of literacy. Rotarians are using a 
  Department of Health and Human Services' grant to test for the 
  efficacy of teaching students critical-thinking skills. In addition 
  to working with students, they're also mentoring students' families 
  and teaching them financial management and information-retrieval 
  skills.

  Financial literacy 
  The Rotary Club of Denver Lodo is teaching financial planning and 
  management to at-risk teenagers in the Excelsior Youth Center, a 
  home for runaway girls. This residential program aims to 
  successfully reintegrate young women with their families and 
  communities.

  Virtual storytime 
  Various clubs in the district have teamed up to assist the Rotary 
  Club of Denver Cherry Creek in making the dreams of deployed 
  soldiers come true. In collaboration with officers aboard the USS 
  Theodore Roosevelt, which is anchored in the Middle East, Rotarians 
  have arranged to have sailors videotaped as they read children's 
  books. These tapes are sent home to the sailors' children.

  Live and learn 
  For the last seven years, the Rotary Club of Aurora has hosted 
  reading parties on Saturday mornings. Rotarians gather used 
  children's books for the event, which also includes snacks and 
  children's entertainment. Children select a book to have read to 
  them and are able to take it home for future reading. Rotarians 
  insert a personalized Rotary bookplate for the children. Local 
  Interact groups regularly participate by gathering and distributing 
  books and reading to the children.

  The importance of literacy can not be overstated. Though programs 
  such as these, Rotarians are able to reduce poverty and improve the 
  life quality for individuals and communities worldwide. 
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