Handouts Require More Homework This was the subtitle of an article in the July 10, 2000 issue of The Telegram. The gist of the article was that corporations are receiving more and more requests for charitable contributions. One company has noticed a 30 percent hike in the number of such requests it has received over the past five years. Consequently, corporations are becoming more businesslike in their response to such requests. It is not enough for organizations to ask for donations; these organizations must show how the funds they receive are being spent. They should have a business plan prepared for how such funds are to be spent. As the title of this article, continued on page 2 of the paper, states: "Firms want more bang for their donated bucks." The article concludes that smaller organizations showing a wise and productive spending of charitable donations are likely to be the recipients of such funds in the future. The Literacy Development Council of Newfoundland and Labrador is one such charitable organization that seeks contributions for it to continue its work in supporting and promoting literacy development in the province. While, it too will have to take a look at whether it measures up to corporation standards in terms of showing that funds received are worthwhile spent, a number of actions on behalf of the Council in recent months indicate that it is heading in the right direction. These will be described in several articles below. READ-IN and St. Augustine's School, St. John's READ-IN was introduced to the province in 1999 by the Literacy Development Council. The year in which it occurs is indicated by adding the date, for example, READ-IN 1999, READ-IN 2000. Of course, READ-IN 2001 will be next. It is usually held in conjunction with Literacy Action Day, and Education Week. The basic idea of READ-IN is to bring schools and communities together. On a certain day, schools invite people from the community to come to the school and read a book to the various classes. This idea is in keeping with one of the major goals of the Strategic Literacy Plan, Words to Live By, which emphasizes the importance of promoting a literacy culture. READ-IN provides schools and children with a time to become aware that reading is everybody's business, that a range of people read, and that reading is enjoyable. It provides an opportunity for parents to go to school for something other than report card night; it provides an opportunity for people from the community who are not parents and who may not have occasion to visit a school, but now have a very good reason to do so. While READ-IN is promoted at a certain time of year, it can occur at any time that a school wishes to involve the community in reading to the children.
|
|||||||||
