Lambda State Chapters Literacy Projects 2010-2011
Chapters throughout Lambda State are supporting literacy in their communities. 
If your chapter is looking for a way in which to encourage literacy, you might find an idea from those listed below.
Sylvia Olson
Literacy Chair

No.

Chapter

Literacy Projects

2

Beta

· Tweaked the previous project TAKE A BOOK TO BED because local hotels did NOT allow us to place books in the lobby for children so they could take them to the room for personal pleasure!  Instead, we invited local teachers of a low-income school to pick them up.

· The Celebration Sock is a seasonally designed sock that is passed around each meeting. Members share some moment of celebration and tuck in whatever coins or bills they wish.  The proceeds are then used to purchase a gift card for a new teacher so that he/she can purchase whatever he/she  needs to have for the classroom..

4

Delta

· Volunteers to read to children at the St. Clair County Health Department once every month and gives each child a book to take home

· Publishes book recommendations in chapter newsletter and informs members of opportunities to hear authors speaking in the area

21

Phi

· Provides books for junior and senior high teachers

· Donates books to local elementary school and public libraries

· Encourages members to participate in Lambda State book discussion and share “Good Reads”

26

Alpha Beta

· Donates over 600 books to the Dwight Correctional Center for incarcerated mothers to create audiotapes for their children

· Provides scholarships to disadvantaged children to ACHIEVE Center, a tutoring facility

· Generates money for chapter projects by donating used adult and children’s books, videos, and DVDs and reselling them to each other

· Donates sets of novels to schools in Russia through a member’s mission trip

· Encourages members to volunteer in local classrooms

30

Alpha Zeta

· Gives away books during the Decatur Celebration

· Places books in local hotel lobbies for guest to read during their stay at the hotel

· Provides books to local food pantries and clothing distribution centers for children to read while their families shop.

· Donates books to the Decatur Women’s Prison for inmates to read and record books to send to their children.

31

Alpha Eta

· Collects and donates new and gently used children’s books for families living in area shelters.

· Provides book reviews to chapter members to encourage reading.

35

Alpha Lambda

· Members bring used books to chapter meetings and “sell” hardback books for $1.00 and paperback books for $.50.  The money is donated to Pekin Library to help fund their “Books for Babies” project.  Mothers bring their new babies to the library where they are presented with their own library card.  The money that is donated is used to purchase books and activities appropriate for the babies.

36

Alpha Mu

· Collects board books to give to new parents to celebrate the birth of their baby at the FHN Hospital in Freeport for the “Catch ‘Em in the Cradle” program.

· Conduct book discussions with sister chapter, Pi.

· Post book recommendations at each chapter meeting.

37

Alpha Nu

· Members will collect and donate new and gently used books to Bernie’s Book Bank that helps “connecting children needing books with books needing children.”

· The Great Bedtime Story Pajama Drive: Members will collect new pajamas that will be paired with new books donated by Scholastic Book Clubs. The books with pajamas are then donated to children who live in group homes, shelters, foster care and orphanages.

41

Alpha Rho

· Provides paperback books to local motels for guests

· Exchanges books with members at chapter meetings

· Encourages members to read to children at local library

43

Alpha Tau

· Purchased children’s books from a local bookstore and donated them to WIC and distributed to Early Childhood Programs in the area.

50

Beta Beta

· Sponsors a Family Reading Night at a local elementary school that includes dramatizations by Night Blue Performing Arts Company, book readings, and distribution of library cards and bags of books to the participants

· Offers a book discussion for members at the March chapter meeting

58

Beta Kappa

· Gives $500.00 grant annually to two local elementary teachers in Wheaton who have established a family book bag program for ELL students and low income families

65

Beta Rho

· Uses proceeds from chapter used book sales to enhance literacy projects.

· Selects and honors a Literary Person of the Year from local schools

66

Beta Sigma

· Provides books and a holiday party for Head Start children and attending siblings

· Assists with starting a book club for parents of students in a local area

· Encourages Millikin University students to volunteer in the elementary schools and offers help with transportation to those schools

· Assists Evelyn Odunsi, M.D., Leader of a Girl Scout troop in Decatur, with after school tutoring, a project for her troop, which we had suggested for her

· Partners with service organizations, like Kiwanis Club, to supply books and tutoring

68

Beta Upsilon

· Collects children’s books from Lake Forest Library book sale and chapter members and donates them to area parochial and public schools and a children’s outreach program, Kid’s Korner at the Lake County Courthouse

75

Gamma Gamma

· Provides subscriptions for parenting magazines to local agencies which provide assistance to victims of domestic abuse.

· Presents a Literacy Award to a community member to recognize efforts to promote literacy.

· Conducts a round table book discussion at one chapter meeting.  Members bring in gently used books to swap.  Leftover books are donated to Schaumburg Library for their Friends of the Library book sales.

101

Delta Epsilon

· Delivers 500 books to preschool and kindergarten children in local public, private, and parochial schools

· Purchases books for school libraries honoring students in 4^th, 6^th, and 8^th grades with high academics and conduct grades

· Offers a book discussion at a chapter meeting