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Upcoming
Orientations
September 28
12-1 pm
Sign up now to join us!
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Help Make The Sun Shine!
 If you've ever participated in one of our Adventures in Creative Writing field trips, you know how powerful (and how much fun!) they are, and how two hours can transform students into proud, published authors by giving them a venue to tell their true story.
Our field trips are now up for a grant from the Sun Shine Project, and you can help us secure the funding to bring more than 5,000 young authors into our classrooms in 2012!
To help, just visit our Sun Shine Project page (registration required) and leave a comment about your experience at our trips.
The Chicago Sun-Times Charity Trust will take all your comments into consideration, and we'll be one step closer to making field trips better than ever next year!
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Revelry Raffle
The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach -- two places that conjure up images of luxury and decadence -- could be within your reach!
Book Your Trip: Revelry 2011 is around the corner, and the grand prize of our raffle is a tremendous trip to South Beach, Miami! This amazing package includes:
- 2 nights at the posh Ritz Carlton in South Beach and
- 2 round-trip American Airlines tickets to get you there!
To see more details and purchase your $10 chance to win a trip to South Beach, click here!
All proceeds support our literacy programs.
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October 15 & 16
10 am - 4 pm
Join us at our new warehouse in Lincoln Park for your choice of more than 20,000 prime used books in all categories, including fiction, nonfiction, and kids' books, at extraordinarily low prices!
Kids' & Softcovers $2
Hardcovers $3 Full Box $30
1740 W. Webster
Member Preview
October 15
8-10 am
Become a member today!
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Chicago Ideas Week
This October 11-16, Open Books is thrilled to be a Community Partner for Chicago Ideas Week -- and very excited to announce that registration is now open!
CIW is an annual weeklong initiative that brings together globally recognized visionaries to speak on a variety of critical issues, social topics, and breakthrough concepts in order to foster connectivity for people in and around the Midwest.
Speakers secured already include former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Joan Cusack, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Tom Friedman, Andrew Mason and more.
Join us there -- register today!
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Dear friends of Open Books,
Everything is buzzing with a little extra excitement at Open Books these days, and it's no wonder! September may very well be our favorite time: an entire month dedicated to literacy, with hundreds of students meeting their volunteer mentors for the first time as we kick off fall programming. What could be better?
This month, hundreds of thousands of students will return to Chicago's classrooms, where challenges and triumphs await. For many, it takes a hefty amount of courage to even walk through the door, and we are forever grateful to our rock-star team of volunteer mentors who help to make it a little bit easier (and more rewarding!) for the students we get the opportunity to work with.
How will you celebrate National Literacy Month? Sharing your gift of literacy with others in need may be the best way of all.
Ava Zeligson
Volunteer Manager
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Volunteers Needed: Join Us Now!
 | | Volunteer Anthony with his mentee Jonathan at the VWrite Meet & Greet, Gage Park High School |
Our programs are officially underway, and we continue to need your help to make them as strong as they can be! We are still recruiting volunteers for most of our sites and would love to add you to our team. Read on for more details, then email Ava to get involved!
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Open Books Buddies
Open Books Buddies is a twice-per-week one-on-one reading program for elementary school students. Open Books Buddies will run at 6 schools this year in Bronzeville, Bucktown, Humboldt Park, Logan Square, Near North, and West Town. Find the full schedule here.
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 ReadThenWrite
Our newest program, ReadThenWrite, which combines the best elements of a book group and writers' workshop to engage students in an immersive reading and writing experience, is in need of more reading/writing coaches to help at our Garfield Park site! Find the full schedule here.
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Next Steps for Getting Involved
If you want to be a part of the fun, sign up for an orientation now. The next session is next Wednesday, 9/28 at noon!
Already been to an orientation? Shoot Ava an email to let her to know where you can help!
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Have you ever been lost in a wonderful book,
had a story take you someplace unexpected,
or received a letter from a faraway friend?
If so, you know the power of reading and writing to take you places, which is also the life-changing effect of literacy.
This November 4, Open Books is hosting a one-of-a-kind spectacular event to help provide those kinds of experiences to more than 4,000 students across Chicago.
GET YOUR TICKETS NOW
for
Book Your Trip: Revelry 2011!
FOOD & DRINK
Heavy hors d'oeuvres, light bites, sensational sweets, wine, beer and signature (Effen Vodka) drinks
ENTERTAINMENT
Lively music, literary games, and eclectic diversions including a passport tour and The Phantom Ticketbooth
AUCTION & RAFFLE
An amazing auction array of astounding items from retailers and organizations citywide plus a raffle for round-trip airfare and 2 nights at Miami's outstanding Ritz-Carlton, South Beach
Friday, November 4, 2011
at Catalyst Ranch
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Vol-Star: Michael Van Kerckhove
 | | Vol-Star Michael working with a student at an Adventures in Creative Writing Field Trip |
Perhaps you've become acquainted with Michael a bit already if you are a dedicated reader of Open Books' blog Read All About It, but for those of you who have been missing out, Mr. Michael Van Kerckhove is not only one of the newest additions to the Open Books intern team, but a true blue vol-star as well! In fact, he received this title even before getting his very own desk in the office.
Though Michael is now working tirelessly to make Open Books' events more scintillating than ever (namely, the upcoming and ever-exciting Revelry -- are you coming?), he's been on the other side of the office for about a year, hanging out in the classrooms with hundreds of Chicago's budding authors at our Adventures in Creative Writing field trips!
A writer himself, Michael shares his passion for the craft with each student he works with, providing support, encouragement, and all of the insider tips to get those final pieces shining. Thrilled as we are to have him on the "office" side of Open Books, there will always be a chair open in Room #2. Now that I've touted Michael's writing skills, go ahead and take a look at his 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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