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Who's Who
We want everyone to become acquainted with the amazing team of volunteers that helps our bookstore thrive, so we're putting their faces up for all to see!
When you stop by the bookstore next month, be sure to take a peek at The Insiders board. You can get started by checking out some of our favorites over on our blog!
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Volunteer with Angelina Jolie!
We're looking for a few friendly folks to chat up the crowd at the upcoming outdoor screening of Salt, featuring the lovely Angie, in River North. If you are gregarious and free on the evening of Tuesday, 7/19, let Ava know! We'll be hitting Up on 8/2 as well! Email Ava at: azeligson@open-books.org |
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Save the Date for
Revelry 2011:
Book Your Trip!
Open Books' famous annual gala fundraiser
will drop anchor at
Catalyst Ranch
on
Friday,
November 4.
Do you know someone in the restaurant industry or at a local winery or brewery? Are you in touch with shop owners who would donate wonderful things for our auction? Please let us know! We need your help finding amazing items for our auction and fabulous food for Revelry! Email us at: events@open-books.org |
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Microvolunteering
Stretched for time, but
still looking for ways
to support Open Books? Check out our new microvolunteering opportunities for ways to help in 5 minutes or less!
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Summer is a great time to head outside, and the Open Books
Sidewalk Sale
is the perfect place to go! Join us for:
- Thousands of books priced at $1-3
- Refreshments
- Dramatic Readings
- Raffle
- The Debut of the
Open Booksmobile
...and more!
June 23 -24
Noon - 5pm
FREE
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Upcoming
Orientations
August 3
6-7 pm
August 19
12-1 pm
Sign up now to join us! |
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Dear friends of Open Books,
This month, we take a sneak peek at our fall season (which starts oh-so-soon), celebrate the unique power of a volunteer, and get to know Joan, our shining vol-star!
To the incredible community that makes our work possible, thank you from the bottom of the collective Open Books heart. To those of you new to the game, we cannot wait to meet you and get you going!
Ava Zeligson
Volunteer Manager
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Looking Forward to Fall: The Men of VWrite 
In one short month, Open Books will officially kick off the school year with our fourth year of VWrite at Gage Park High School. We are so excited to start making mentor-student matches and to get the show on the road! Now that all of you distinguished gentlemen have had some time to think about last month's piece on the importance of male role models, you have your chance to get involved and make your mark. When working with teens, as we do in VWrite, male mentors are especially significant to the boys in the program. We work hard to pull together a strong male contingent in VWrite, but we can't do it without you! If you're interested in supporting one of our fine young men from Gage Park High via phone and email as they explore their post-high school options and prepare themselves to secure the opportunities they deserve, we want to hear from you! Interested in helping this fall? Email Ava with a resume and sample cover letter now! |
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Know Your Rights
The declaration of the month is, undoubtedly, the Declaration of Independence. "We hold these truths to be self-evident..." Many of us could recite a good bit of it in our sleep. However, as we think on our celebrated independence and all that it empowers us to do, there is another very important declaration to consider: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
While it has been established for centuries that "all men are created equal," it is only recently that we have been able to see this equality in action (and surely, we have a way to go). One very important step along the way was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN in 1948. It is here, along with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, that we see the right to education secured as a human right.
For many, this basic human right is not being fulfilled. Though we are fortunate enough to have school systems in place, we consistently find students falling behind, dropping out, and failing to reach their full potential.
We have a chance to change this. By supporting struggling students and providing them with extra care, resources, and encouragement, we empower them to succeed, to take full advantage of their right to education, and to grow up to be change agents in their communities.
To those who benefited fully from the right to education, and especially to those who fought tooth and nail to do so, it is now on us to join the movement and work to ensure these rights for the next generation.
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Vol-Star: Joan Riley
Joan Riley is an Open Books treasure, without a doubt. She spent all last year as a stupendous Big Buddy at our Bronzeville site in Open Books Buddies, all while doubling as one of our most amazing bookstore volunteers! (During this summer's heat wave when our bookstore's air conditioner up and quit, Joan was the one volunteer to stick it out and stay through her shift. All day, the bookstore team exclaimed: "That Joan, what a trooper!")
Honorable mention must go to her partner in crime, her wonderful husband Jim Goodridge, who joined her as a Bronzeville Lighthouse Buddy and in the Chicago 5K as a part of Team Bookin' It! The two are pictured above at this year's Valentines for Volunteers event.
Perhaps you've had the good fortune to stop by the bookstore when Joan is working a shift, or maybe you recognize her from her star appearance in NBC Nightly News' Making a Difference segment on Open Books! Any of these experiences would merely skim the surface of getting to know Joan, though, so I wholeheartedly encourage you to learn more about her by reading her responses to our 10 Questions.
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Open Books is a nonprofit social venture that operates an extraordinary bookstore, provides community programs, and mobilizes passionate volunteers to promote literacy in Chicago and beyond. We enhance lives through reading, writing, and the VOLUNTARY power of used books. Learn more and sign up to join us at www.open-books.org! |
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