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In June 2011,
Open Books provided
552 hours
of reading and writing programs to
211 students
from
8 schools
across Chicago.
Read more about our progress and sign up to join our volunteer ranks!
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Poems of the Month
There is nothing more inspiring than sassy 3rd grade girls pouring their
hearts into poems.
Read about Tucker's recent field trip experience- we promise that you'll feel summer bursting from their written work!
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Give a Semester For Literacy!
Open Books is seeking new faces to join our literacy intern team this fall! As an intern, you'll learn the ins and outs of our successful social venture, devour all the books you can handle, and help thousands of students across Chicago find their voices. Read more about the internship and apply! If you know someone who might be interested, please share this wonderful opportunity with them! |
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: revelry@open-books.org
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Dear friends of Open Books,
One of the most common misconceptions we run into is the idea that we develop the ability to read only to process and enjoy books. While reading books and literature is certainly important, I like to think of it as the icing on the cake -- that special bonus we get as a by-product of a much more fundamental life skill.
The truth is that when students are engaged in reading, they become engaged in the learning process, which opens up the world, inviting critique and participation. Reading is one of our great equalizers; it's a way that we can make sense of the people, places, and things around us. In order to make informed decisions about both their small, immediate worlds and about larger issues in society, students must be able to ingest, discuss, and formulate complex texts and ideas.
This July, as you contemplate our country's independence, I hope you'll also take a moment to reflect what it means to be able to think, criticize, and share ideas with those around you. How would your life be different if you couldn't read on a daily basis?
Anna Piepmeyer
Program Director
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Help At-Risk Youth Prepare for Their Futures: Join Us For VWrite!
Mark your calendar: Open Books' innovative and much-anticipated teen program, VWrite, is about to begin!
For the third consecutive year, we will immerse over fifty juniors from Gage Park high school in focused thinking about their (quickly approaching!) adult lives. In addition to providing supportive mentors, VWrite re-engages at-risk youth in their academics, opening doors that may have previously seemed daunting or impossible to crack.
Beginning in early August, Open Books will bring together a multifaceted and incredibly talented group of professional volunteer mentors from in and around Chicago and pair each with a Gage Park student. These adults, who come to us with backgrounds as different as the day is long, have one thing in common: a passion for working with high-need youth and the knowledge that they can leverage their individual talents to help their young students succeed in their lives after high school.
Professional mentors can give low-income students the boost they need to not only finish high school successfully, but to apply to and attend college. Last year, 47% of VWrite students reported that participating in the program changed their mind about seeking higher education. This year, we will continue to show our students that the sky's the limit!
Help us make this the best semester of VWrite yet by donating your time as a volunteer, purchasing books in our store, by making a gift to Open Books.
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ReadThenWrite's First Summer Winds Down We can barely believe it, but our summer pilot sessions of ReadThenWrite with savvy students at Columbia Explorers Academy and Perspectives Middle Academy are quickly coming to an end. Read more about what we've been up to and visit our YouTube page to watch what 8th grade student Jessica had to say about the program. Psst - Keep an eye out for information about our upcoming Author Gala at the Open Books Store, where our ReadThenWrite students will share their published novellas...and for opportunities to volunteer with a ReadThenWrite group in the fall! |
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Open Books Is A Nonprofit Social Venture...
You may have heard us mention the term "social venture," and you might be wondering: what exactly does that mean? Social ventures and social enterprises are organizations that use business strategies to achieve philanthropic goals or social change. They can also be nonprofits with earned income strategies like the Open Books store, whose proceeds support our literacy programs across Chicago. This fall, the Social Enterprise Alliance is having its annual summit in Chicago. Not only will Open Books be a stop on the tour of local social enterprises, but we are the proud venue for the book launch of Social Enterprise: Empowering Mission-Driven Entrepreneurs, authored by SEA Director Marc Lane! In the book, Lane, provides comprehensive information and resources for the social entrepreneur including how to: create and develop a business model for the social enterprise; organize and run the social enterprise; and effectively measure the social enterprise's impact. Join us to learn more about social enterprise and how to succeed as a mission-driven entrepreneur! August 11 6 pm FREE |
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Did you know that Open Books publishes 3 newsletters every month? Sign up for What's In Store, Volunteer Vanguard, and Literacy Landscape now!
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 WONDROUS power of used books. |
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