Monday, January 5, 2009

Welcome back for another great year at Project Read!

We hope you had the very best holiday season and are ready for 2009.

Now that the holiday decorations and fireworks have been put away and you are settling back into routine, we hope that Project Read will continue to be part of your activities. As you arrange your busy schedules and set new goals, please be aware that our office hours have changed. We are now open Monday through Thursday from 11 AM to 9 PM. Hopefully, the change will not inconvenience you.

As it is the beginning of a new year, now would be a PERFECT time to tell your friends about Project Read. There are many people who could benefit from the services we offer in developing reading, writing, and other literacy skills. We are eager to serve even more people in the community this year. And, of course, we always need more brilliant tutors and volunteers -- we can't do it without you!

We look forward to seeing you all again!


Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Future Job Opportunities at the U.S. Census Bureau

The U.S. Census bureau has posted their new and varied paid employment opportunities which are available to everyone. The jobs include the following: Census Taker, Crew Leader, Recruiting Assistant, Crew Leader Assistant and Census Clerk. For detailed information call 1-866-861-2010 and follow the step-by-step instructions. TTY information at 1-800-877-8339. I tried it and it was very easy.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Project Letters

I just received an email from Carlos E. Galindo, the coordinator for Project Letters who is trying to get anyone and everyone to write a letter to President Obama about immigration reform and mail it on February 12, 2009. This could be a great project for you and your student to work on together. Read on for more information . . .

Greetings, I'm Carlos E. Galindo and I am the Coordinator for Proyecto Cartas also known as Project Letters. We have launched a serious campaign to promote this very important project on a national and global basis. The concept behind this project is that every individual interested in immigration reform or bettering our economy here in these great United States send a letter to President Obama on February 12, 2009. Why February 12, 2009 you may ask? February 12, 2009 is the bicentennial birth date of Abraham Lincoln. As we all know Barack Obama has been greatly influenced by Abraham Lincoln and has patterned much of his political life after Lincoln and has quoted him in many speeches and in his book the "Audacity of Hope". This is a very symbolic date based on the fact that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves of their chains and the possibility exists that President Elect Obama could free those immigrants currently living in the shadows of their virtual chains.

Just imagine, millions of letters going out on the same day. What an impact this will have on the postal system and the media attention will be impressive. The infusion of money into the postal system will be incredible. This will allow the immigrants and others to voice their needs utilizing the oldest form of communication and allows those utilizing this method to avoid having to march in the streets and yet it is an assimilation into the American culture. The show of force from not just those immigrants seeking an immigration reform but those U.S.
Citizens who believe in the need to have low skilled labor to continue prospering this economy and to allow those twelve million plus undocumented immigrants to come out of the shadows and openly participate and contribute to this great nation.

We currently have support from the local media in print and the smaller television stations have had me on their programs explaining this program. We have garnered an incredible amount of support from the general public both Immigrants and mainstream Americans including African Americans and Asians. This is a non-partisan project and does not draw lines as to gender, race, creed or color. Everyone including children, the elderly and all family members can write a letter to our soon to be President, Barack Obama. All letters must be personally written. Many other have launched campaigns for letter writing, but unfortunately they included form letters signed by many participants in that project and as we know form letters do not carry the weight necessary to impact congress or the White House. These must be personally written in as brief as a few words or can be lengthy telling a personal story or dilemma, however all seeking the same change.

Immigration Reform!!!

Just Imagine millions of letters arriving to the White House two to three days after being sent on this very symbolic day!!! All letters must be ready for security purposes and must be categorized. This is an impressive and ambitious project!!!

It is important to note that I am not part of any particular organization and I am not in any way benefiting financially from this project. I am currently hosting a radio talk show and I actually pay to be on the air and give solid information to our community in Spanish.

The idea behind our radio show is to support the Hispanic Community and to allow them to have a voice in what is affecting them daily.

Please help us promote this very important project nationwide!!!!

Professionally,
Carlos E. Galindo
cgalindo@swvalleyliteracy.org

Proyecto Cartas
Project Letters
www.proyectocartas.com <http://www.proyectocartas.com
Cell: (602)550-6246
Office: (602)222-9100

1901 N. 16th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85006

Carlos E. Galindo
President
Southwest Valley Literacy Association
(623)695-4323
www.southwestvalleyliteracy.org
"Teach someone to read, it lasts a lifetime"

Monday, December 8, 2008

Annual Christmas Party & Award Banquet

We appreciate everyone who attended the Project Read Annual Christmas Party and Award Banquet. The evening was lovely, the food delicious, the entertainment beautiful, and of course it was wonderful to spend the evening with friends and recognize the hard work and contributions of Project Read tutors and students. We appreciate those board members who attended, and we look forward to an even better year in 2009.

We especially appreciate our sponsors, Lon's Cookin' Shack & Outback Steakhouse who provided the pork & potatoes for the meal. In addition, Costa Vida, Bajio, Magleby's, Los 3 Amigos, Macaroni Grill, Chik-Fil-A, Nicolitalia Pizza, Fazoli's, & Honey Baked Ham donated gift certificates for the awards to tutors & students.

Project Read Director Shauna K. Brown recognized Toni Johnson as the Tutor of the Year:

Other outstanding tutors and students were also recognized:

Project Read Program Coordinator Bryan Bennett and some of his friends (Michelle Parker, Anneli Hansen, Julie Chatfield, Mandi Alexander, Charla Aranda, Taylor Ralston, and Scott Richards; Jamie Williams on the piano and Elizabeth Zenger on the violin) provided beautiful entertainment including several choral numbers and a violin/piano duet:


The food (provided by Lon's Cookin' Shack & Outback Steakhouse) was delicious and everyone had an enjoyable evening:








A visit from Santa Claus (with gift bags) was the highlight for the many children in attendance:



Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Free Online English Classes

Office of Vocational and Adult Education Launches Online English Portal

Starting today, immigrants and other adults who want to learn or improve their English skills can log on to a new free Online English Portal called USALearns. The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education, through its Division of Adult Education and Literacy, oversaw the design of USALearns.org.

Launch of the site completes a goal set by President Bush in his August 10, 2007 announcement of initiatives to address border security and immigration challenges in the United States--a plan to have the U.S. Department of Education develop and launch a free, web-based portal to help immigrants learn English, expand their opportunities, and make effective contributions to American society."

To access or learn more about the new Portal, visit http://www.usalearns.org/ or view a fact sheet at http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/publications/pdf/USALearnsFactSheet08.pdf.

Friday, November 14, 2008

FedEx Kinko's Pitches In

Many organizations and individuals played key roles in making the 2008 Project Read Spelling Bee possible. FedEx Kinko’s really stood out among this group. When asked why his store chose to donate more than $1,000 in-kind in printed spelling bee flyers and brochures, Justin, an assistant manager from the FedEx Kinko’s store, responded, “Looking at the cause and recognizing the importance of adult literacy, I wanted to get involved. I want to be clear that I am not in this just for the business. I want to be a part of making the community better.” Justin has recently been promoted to store manager. We congratulate him and thank him for his help! Well, g2g. Thanks for helping us “change lives through literacy.”

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

New Student Policy

Beginning this month, Project Read now needs new students to show proof of Utah residency before they can begin our program. This can be done by showing one of the following:

  • Utah Driver's license
  • Utah State ID
  • Utah fishing or hunting license
  • Utah library card
  • Utility, house, or phone bill in the student's name and uses a street address (not a PO box)
  • Current car registration
  • Utah high school or college report card
  • Official letter from employer stating the job of the student
  • Utah voter registration
~OR~
  • Registration of the student's child in a Utah school
Once a student shows one of these documents (an original that Project Read can photocopy and keep in the file) and meets other Project Read requirements , the student can begin studying at Project Read.

***This new policy does not apply to those students already in our program.***