Literacy – Spanning North America ::Saskatoon SK :: Philadelphia PA :: Shawnee OK

Literacy: Spanning North America      

@READSaskatoon

Ernie Learns To Write: The Story of a 64-year-old Sask. Farmer Who Gained Literacy, And a Friend

Star Phoenix: 12.26.2018 by Bre McAdam

In 2000, Ernie Schmidt started filling notebooks with stories from his life — stories written in neat cursive about picking rocks, shooting gophers and thistles.

He was 64 years old, and for the first time in his life, he had learned how to write. It was almost as though he knew he had a small window of time, and that two years later, a stroke would make it painfully uncomfortable to hold a pen.

Schmidt, who is now 82, expressed how meaningful this new skill was in a letter he wrote 18 years ago to READ Saskatoon, the organization that helped him learn it. Little did he know the impression he had left on them.

Fast forward to 2018, when Schmidt’s daughter, Sharon Miller, found herself at a conference, sitting beside READ’s executive director. Miller mentioned her father was a past adult learner.

Director Sheryl Harrow-Yurach asked Miller to share her father’s story with the board members. After the presentation, Harrow-Yurach realized Schmidt was the man who wrote the letter they’d been sharing with volunteers for years.

They lovingly called it “Ernie’s letter.”

“It gives me great pleasure to write this note. A few months ago I Ernest could not write, I could not spell, I even had trouble thinking about writing or spelling. I was unhappy with myself.  READ MORE >>

@LSHphilly

As Fishtown Businesses Boom, One 116-year-old Nonprofit Has Found Support From Its New Neighbors

Philly.com: 12.26.2018 by Allison Steele

A century ago, immigrants who arrived in Fishtown from Eastern Europe found themselves at the doors of the Lutheran Settlement House on Frankford Avenue, an urban ministry that helped families acclimate to their new lives.

The nonprofit agency, which has never moved from the stately building where it was founded in 1902, now stands on a stretch of prime real estate, amid converted condos and artfully lit restaurants selling $15 cocktails.

The rapid changes have forced the organization, which provides shelter, education, domestic violence support, senior services and more, to reflect on its role in the new Fishtown, said Erica Zaveloff, director of development.

But the revitalization has also brought generosity from the businesses that now line Frankford Avenue, which have become among its most reliable donors. Fund-raising events regularly draw contributions from restaurants like Frankford Hall, Bottle Bar East, Joe’s Steaks, Johnny Brenda’s, and Wm. Mulherin’s Sons.

“The population in Fishtown, by and large, doesn’t need us anymore,” said Zaveloff, adding that the organization has been doing outreach at schools in Kensington and beyond. “What does that mean for us? Does that mean we should move to where the need is?

"But at the same time,” she continued, “it’s pretty awesome being here right now, because we get so much support. We have these people who want to give back, and rather than push us out, they want us to stay.”  READ MORE>>

@Comm_Renewal

Community Renewal Friendship House Invests In Bikes To Borrow

Shawnee News-Star: 12.26.2019 by Vicky O. Misa

The city’s first Friendship House is settling in to its purpose of making friends by searching out and filling a need they see in the neighborhood; right now that need comes in the form of bicycles.

“The only way to have a friend is to be one,” Ralph Waldo Emerson once said.

The famous quote may strike a chord with society because it’s kind, but its value holds true because the principle works.

Open since August in Kickapoo Park, at the corner of Seventh and Pottenger, the city’s first Friendship House is settling in to its purpose of making friends. One way they have chosen to do that is by searching out and filling a need they see in the neighborhood; right now that need comes in the form of bicycles.

Community Renewal just bought 10 bikes for Friendship House neighborhood kids through Spokelahoma bike shop owner Craig MacIntyre.

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Friendship House helps neighbors rebuild the caring infrastructure of that neighborhood and fosters beneficial relationships by working with local children, youth, and adults to help meet their needs while bringing valuable social services to the neighborhood. The Friendship House’s community room will provide after-school activities and a safe place for kids in the neighborhood, GED (Hi-SET) programs, adult literacy classes, and other services that meet the needs of the neighborhood.  READ MORE >>