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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
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A
Personal Message from Peter Sloss, Advisory Committee Chair
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In round numbers, it costs
$375,000 a year to operate the Bay Area Jewish Coalition for Literacy.
Considering the fact that we tutor some 1,200 students, this is not a
lot—but the money still has to be raised every year.
In the beginning of JCL, we
received most of our funding from the Jewish Community Endowment Fund and
a few foundations, as a new project that held the potential of providing
a significant community benefit. In the world of nonprofit funding, this
is commonly known as “seed funding.” Seven years into its life, JCL has
sprouted and put down healthy roots. Many of the funding organizations
that provided “seed funding” to get us started no longer support us because
we are now established. This requires us every year to go out and seek
new sources of funds.
One source that we have just
begun to tap is corporate giving. While corporations vary in their
giving priorities, many focus on organizations and programs in which
their employees are involved. JCL, with its 500 volunteers, is
particularly well placed to take advantage of this type of support.
To give a concrete example
of how this works, one of our tutors, Stacey Ockman Rabkin, who was a
tutor at John Yehall Chin Elementary, works for The Gap. At the
suggestion of Becky Buckwald, JCL’s San Francisco Director, this
volunteer advised her employer that she was volunteering with JCL and
asked The Gap to support our program. JCL received a $150 contribution
from The Gap as a result. In this case, The Gap recognized its employee’s
contribution of her time by making a financial contribution.
Other corporations will
match financial contributions that their employees make. The ratios of
the corporate match to the employee gift vary among corporations, but
often the employer will give $1 for every dollar the employee gives, or
make a donation based on the number of hours the volunteer spends
tutoring. Among the companies that have already supported JCL are
Ameriquest Mortgage Company, TRI Coldwell Banker, and Morrison and
Foerster. Employers who we know support their employees’ charitable
interests are Wells Fargo, Charles Schwab, Salesforce.com, and AMD, to
name a few.
Whichever way the
corporation’s giving program works, it is an attractive means by which
some of our tutors can help us raise the amount we need every year to
operate JCL, at little or no cost to the tutor. If you work for a
company, or your adult children do, you can help by asking your employer
to support the Jewish Coalition for Literacy. Even if you are unsure
whether your employer will match your work or financial contribution,
please call the JCL Regional Director in your area, who will be able to
help you find out what your employer’s policies are.
From large corporations, to
small law firms, many employers are ready and willing to invest in the
next generation’s ability to read—all you have to do is ask!
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First
JCL Kindergarten Workshops
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JCL Kindergarten Workshop attendees in the East Bay.
Research
by the Packard and MacArthur foundations has shown that children from
low-income backgrounds on average participate in only 25 hours of
one-on-one reading before kindergarten. By contrast, children in
middle-income families benefit from 1,700 hours of reading with adults
before kindergarten. The results are telling: by first grade, children
from low-income families command a vocabulary of about 5,000 words, while
children from middle-income families know close to 20,000 words.
JCL
is working to bridge that gap by addressing the special needs of
kindergarten students as they take their first steps towards reading and
writing. With our reading specialist extraordinaire, Joan Green, JCL is
offering kindergarten tutors the opportunity to participate in a special
workshop focusing on the skills they need to acquire in their first year
of school. As you can see from the pictures, the workshops have been well
attended and very engaging! Volunteers receive a handbook with games and
strategies for helping kindergarteners learn to read, and spend time at
the workshop making literacy games that they can use in their weekly
sessions.
Studies
on emergent literacy indicate that children who have positive literacy
experiences and concepts of print before they start formal schooling are
less likely to have reading difficulties once they enter grade school.
The reading skills children learn in kindergarten will help guide their
achievement throughout their school career and beyond. Therefore, it is
essential to provide appropriate support in reading and writing that will
shape students’ literacy experiences for their future.
We’ll
keep you posted on upcoming Kindergarten Workshops! If you have any
questions about working with your kindergarten student, contact Joan
Green at jfgreen2@aol.com.
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Pen
Pal Program: A new opportunity to encourage literacy
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JCL East Bay
Residents of Rossmoor who are part of JCL"s Pen Pal Program.
What
can a person do if they are deeply concerned about the state of education
in their community and want to contribute, but health or ability prevents
them from making the weekly commitment to work one-on-one with a student?
Volunteers in the East Bay have come up with a solution that has made
teachers, students, and tutors happy.
This
year the East Bay JCL will pilot the Pen Pal Program, a
letter-writing exchange between volunteers and young students. Long
before the Internet and email and YouTube, people used to look forward to
letter from a friend, and sometimes, a pen pal. A pen pal was often from
a different town, or country, and they were able to teach us about their
culture and environment, just as we could teach them about ours. Often,
we would never meet our pen pal, but would build a close relationship
with this person through the intimate and creative act of letter-writing.
This
year the East Bay JCL will try to re-create this fun and engaging act of
learning as we bring together people of different ages, backgrounds,
religions, and cultures. To date, 20 volunteers from the Rossmoor
community of Walnut Creek, made up of mainly retired individuals, have
signed up to write a monthly letter to a 2nd grade student at Fair Oaks
Elementary School in Pleasant Hill. Letter-writing is part of the second
grade curriculum; and teachers at Fair Oaks are thrilled that their
students will be able to practice this skill with volunteers from the
community, as they prepare for the state wide exam.
Currently
only 23% of all students at Fair Oaks Elementary are reaching proficient
levels in English Language Arts on the California Standards Test. With
the on-going practice of letter-writing, which will help to improve
communication skills, reading and writing skills, penmanship and
spelling, we are hoping that these scores will improve by the end of the
2006–2007 school year.
In
addition to building literacy skills, these second grade students will
discover a new California, as their letters will focus on the history of
the area (another topic in the curriculum). And who better to teach them
about the California of 30, 40, or 50 years ago than members of the
Rossmoor community?
Anyone
can participate in this fun new volunteer opportunity. Whether you are
working, retired, from California, or a transplant, there are many young
students who would love to hear from you! It couldn’t be easier to
participate. Your monthly letter will make a significant difference in
the life of a child.
For
more information, contact Jennifer Beck, East Bay JCL Director, at jennifer@jfed.org, or 510.839.2900
ext. 272.
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JCL's
Book Centerpiece Project: Marilyn Nebenzahl
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Marilyn Nebenzahl with one of her recent beautiful creations.
JCL
would like to introduce you to the Book Centerpiece Project, an
enterprise run almost single- handedly by JCL volunteer and Advisory
Committee member Marilyn Nebenzahl. The centerpiece project is a
venture that offers you the opportunity to include literacy and tikkun
olam (repairing the world) in your milestone events—bar or bat
mitzvahs, weddings, anniversary parties, or holiday celebrations, to name
a few.
In
place of flowers, Marilyn creates stunning, custom-designed centerpieces
made of books. The celebrant works with Marilyn to choose the color
scheme and decoration, while the cost of the centerpieces goes to
purchasing new, quality children’s books. These are donated to JCL
partner schools and after-school programs.
Thank
you, Marilyn, for your amazing creativity and expertise! People who have
ordered centerpieces, the children who have benefited from the new
literature at their schools, and the JCL staff are so appreciative of the
time and energy you contribute to this project. (And we can’t forget that
Harry Nebenzahl has always been ready to lend us a hand—thanks, Harry!)
For
information on ordering book centerpieces for your next celebration,
please contact SF Program Director Becky Buckwald at 415.977.7414 or bbuckwald@jcrc.org. We kindly
request three months lead-time before the date of your event.
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Thank
you!
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Thank you to Helene Tinkler, JCL
volunteer extraordinaire, who donated many hours this summer helping out
in the San Francisco office. You’re the best, Helene!
Thanks to the volunteers who
helped out at the JCCSF’s BookFest 2006—Ted Bamberger, Jerilyn Gelt, Stacey Scott, and Helene Tinkler.
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Calendar of Upcoming Events
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Chanukah Book
Drive 2006
Please join us at the Book
Drive Kickoff Party near you:
San Francisco
Sunday, December 10th, 2006
3 – 6 pm
Books Inc.
601 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA
Peninsula
Thursday, December 14th,
2006
4 – 7 pm
Books Inc.
301 Castro Street
Mountain View, CA
East Bay
Sunday, December 17th, 2006
12 noon – 3 pm
Jewish Community Center of the East Bay
1414 Walnut Street
Berkeley, CA
With any purchase of a book
from Books Inc. at one of the Book Drive Kickoff parties, 20% of the sale
will go to JCL!
Click here to see the JCL Book Drive Wish List
(PDF file)
NEW — It is now possible to donate to JCL
online! Simply CLICK
HERE, and be sure to choose JCRC's JCL Project in the Donation
Designation section.
Contact JCL
Questions about JCL or becoming a tutor? Contact us
anytime:
In San Francisco:
Becky Buckwald, Director
415.977.7414
BBuckwald@jcrc.org
121 Steuart Street, Suite 301
San Francisco, CA 94105
In the East Bay:
Jennifer Beck, Director
510.839.2900 x272
Jennifer@jfed.org
300 Grand Avenue
Oakland, CA 94610
Web site: www.jfed.org/jcl2.htm
On the Peninsula:
Dana Mano, Director
650.940.1229
DMano@jcrc.org
5150
El Camino Real, Suite D15
Los Altos, CA 94022
Bay Area Director:
Roberta Rothman
RRothman@jcrc.org
JCL Reading Specialist:
Joan Green
Home: 415.751.4992
jfgreen2@aol.com
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