October 2016 - News & Updates
"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free." - Frederick Douglass
From Betty's Desk... 
Thank you for Getting Connected and Passing It On!

THANK YOU TUCSON!!  The literacy programs of Literacy Connects will assist over 45,000 children and adults this year and it is BECAUSE OF YOU!  Our Get Connected event raised over $130,000 and more support is arriving every day. TUCSON GETS IT!  The support that pours in at our event and that we count on all year long proves that Tucson totally understands the importance of improving literacy. Tucson knows that improving literacy improves our entire community.
 
I recently met with literacy non-profits in another city and state and their city does not get it. Their community has not embraced literacy as a key issue to be solved. As a result, they are all struggling and very few children and adults with low literacy skills are getting help to improve.
 
As we approach Thanksgiving - I am filled with gratitude for the generosity of our community!  I am grateful that Tucson, as a community, is well aware of our literacy issues and is invested in improving literacy for all people. Thank you for your dollars that support our programs. Thank you to our over 1,000 volunteers that give their time to the child and adult learners in our programs. HUGE THANK YOU to our pediatricians in close to 60 local clinics that buy nearly all of the books they give to promote literacy in their young patients!
 
We have a lot of literacy work to do. And we are doing it because we are all connected and we are passing it on!  THANK YOU TUCSON!

Literacy Connects Pilot Program Shows 220% Improvement in Kindergarteners' Reading

At our Get Connected event we revealed the ground-breaking results of the Literacy Connects Reading Seed Kinder Project in which 100% of kindergarten students at Keeling Elementary school had improved test scores (220% average class improvement in whole word reading), became more engaged in classroom activities, and came to self-identify as a reader. Watch our blog, Stories that Connect, for more exciting details on November 1, 2016!
Dollar-for-Dollar Tax Credit!

The Arizona Charitable Tax Credit limits have been  doubled . You can now donate to your favorite cause(s) and received a higher, dollar-for-dollar tax credit. 

Taking advantage of the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit means that more tax dollars stay in Arizona and support the causes that are important to you. 

Taxpayers filing as single or married filing separately can claim a
maximum credit of $400. Taxpayers who are married and filing jointly can claim a
maximum credit of $800

Passing on the Invaluable Gift of Literacy

English Language Acquisition for Adults (ELAA) tutor and English Intensive teacher, Nancy Kwoh, dishes on her passion for literacy and how inspired she is by the determined learners in her classes at Literacy Connects. 

Fall 2016 Tucson TAWL Conference 

The 2016 annual conference presented by Tucson TAWL (Teachers Applying Whole Language) and Literacy Connects is right around the corner. 

Join us on 
November 5, 2016 from 8AM-3PM at the El Rio Neighborhood Center at 1390 W. Speedway Boulevard in Tucson, AZ.

The theme for this year's conference is Creating Spaces for Literacy: Learners' Reading and Writing Connections. Keynote Speaker, Dr. Richard Meyer, asks us to ponder the following: "Where do those connections begin and end? Reading, Writing, and Life as We Know It."

Breakout sessions include...
  • Thinking Aloud: From Comprehension to Confidence, Violet Kennedy and Katie Cooper, Literacy Connects
  • Miscue and More: Revisiting Miscues and Language Cuing Systems, Dr. Yetta Goodman, Professor Emerita, and Kelly Allen, U of A
  • Using Wordless Books for Reading & Writing, Nancy Siner and Susan Friese, Literacy Connects
  • Reading and Writing are not School Subjects, Dr. Ken Goodman, Professor Emeritus, U of A
         and many more!

 

 
Fry's Community Rewards
Sign-up or Renew

Did you know that supporting literacy in your community can be as easy as doing your weekly grocery shopping? 

Easily register your Fry's VIP card online today, enroll in Fry's Community Rewards, and select Literacy Connects as your nonprofit of choice.  After that, a portion of all of your Fry's spending will be donated straight to Literacy Connects. 

If you've already enrolled in the program but have not renewed your nonprofit choice, please renew today! Community Rewards accounts must be renewed yearly during or after August. 

If you have a Fry's VIP card, simply go to this website to  sign-up or to renew today !

Literacy Connects | 200 E. Yavapai Rd. Tucson, AZ 85705 | (520)882-8006 

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