Read All About It!

Open Books all-star Juan Perez was one of several outstanding volunteers who attended the Chicago HOPES new tutor training session on Saturday. The volunteers learned about their new role as weekly mentors, reading buddies, and homework helpers to Chicago Public School students living in homeless shelters. Here’s Juan’s thoughtful report:

We shook the snow off our shoes and wrote names on the tags. Some sat in the front row, most filled the middle and a few in the back. Shortly past one, the women from Chicago HOPES introduced themselves. From left to right they were Jeannine, Ali and Samantha, the Chicago Hopers.

The smiles and candor of do-gooders are there. A nice collection of earrings is displayed on their ears. They also wear a certain something, something that’s obvious once it is pointed out but invisible before. After a brief introduction, the “it” shows its head. They have resolve. These women want to change the world. Not only Chicago but the world. And they know how.

They want us to know as well but they won’t open the door. They just hand us the key. They ask: “What is your duty to your neighbor? What releases you from that duty?” The women at Chicago HOPES really don’t beat around the bush.

We sit and stare at the Chicago Hopers, one another, the trees bearing a new coat of snow with jaunty branches pointing inside. The guy from finance who had shared earlier that the corporation he works for encourages its employees to give back is looking for an answer. The young woman who is following in her family tradition and studying to become a teacher and give back is looking for an answer. The woman invited by her sister, a White Castle manager, who wants to give back to her community is looking for an answer.

Slowly we each come up with our answer. Then, a woman says it aloud (did I mention the women in the room were not just smartly dressed but are smart? They men were not dull either.): “Our duty to our neighbor is to share.”

Slowly, slight nods of agreements and a subtle change fill the room. That’s the strongest thread that’s connecting the people in this cold-ish library room and our intentions. We want to share what we have with a neighbor we haven’t met. We want to release a positive charge into our community, our city. We have been infected by the Chicago Hopers’ resolve and hope that this city, this world, can be changed for the better. The key, hope, has been passed around. And hope, like the chilly wind outside, can shake things up.

Thank you so much, Juan, for taking the time to share. Thanks to all the volunteers who attended the training. And, of course, thank you to Chicago HOPES for being such a wonderful partner for Open Books!

In the previous post you met Hayley Kahn, and now I’m just as thrilled to introduce the Open Books family to Matt Johnson, our second literacy programs intern. Matt is a student of English literature at North Park University and a veteran of the Chicago Park District’s Harvest Gardens program. He strikes me as someone who will be a thoughtful and valuable member of the team. Of course, as the first male staff member at Open Books, he also qualifies as brave. Here’s Matt in his own words. — Erin

Hey, this is Matt, a new intern here at Open Books, and am just writing a quick note to say who I am and why I’m here. Open Books as an idea is something that immediately resonated with me. I’ve been a reader for a long time, and the importance of books, especially when they were opened up before me, in my life is great. I’ve long considered books, and literacy, a key, or even the key to a more open, just, fair, and intelligent society. In saying that, I equally feel that those of us who’ve had the privilege and experience of literacy must share this gift with those who haven’t. Which is were Open Books comes in.

After getting to know the people who work here, even on a pretty limited basis so far, it’s easy to see that they created this place in order to reach some lofty goals, or at the very least, keep those goals in mind. [You're right, Matt: even when the Open Books team is at its busiest, silliest, and/or most stressed and exhausted (all of which we are this week because of the Big Move), we've got our mission in mind and are reaching for the big goals. -- E]

I love to read, and I love to talk about reading and about what I learned from the experience. Open Books is providing all of us who share that love of reading a way to help those in the community who have been kept outside of that experience — and to share with them the joy and the knowledge that can be found in words.

I’m thrilled to introduce Open Books’ first intern, Hayley Kahn, a graduate student, teacher, artist, reader, and much more. She hit the ground running today, and you’ll be seeing her at our Big Move and many other exciting events and literacy programs this spring. Take it away, Hayley!

Hello wonderful friends! Welcome to my first blog post ever. My name is Hayley, and this is my first day here at Open Books. I will be working on literacy programming, beginning with developing our new writing workshop field trips. I am just finishing up my M.Ed. in elementary education; being in schools so often I really see the need for an organization that supports literacy in a joyful and meaningful way. I am thrilled to be here and look forward to working with our partners, volunteers, and all the amazing students that Open Books serves.

Books are one of my favorite things ever, and a good book will consume me completely. I’ve spent many a party or vacation tucked away somewhere, book in hand. Post-college (I studied art and art history) I lived and worked in Australia for six months…and virtually all my time was occupied reading, albeit on the beach. I was in Prague for New Year 2006…did I go dancing? Did I drink absinthe and sing in the streets? No, I snuggled in my hotel room reading. Just last Friday, I ditched my friends and spent the night reading Peter Carey’s Oscar and Lucinda (sorry, friends).

I think that reading can be life-changing, and I want to bring this passion I feel to projects here. Literacy is SO important, and not just the literacy that is measured in standardized bubble tests. People need an intuitive sense of language and an ability to listen and hear. I’m reading A Surge of Language by Jeffrey D. Wilhelm (if you teach, you should read this book). The author explains persuasively that literacy is meaningless if students don’t hear language and read for pleasure. This is an issue that our fun and meaningful projects at Open Books address.

So, in developing the writing workshop field trips, I’m emphasizing pleasure in writing and connecting writing to every student’s life. As a former art major, I also plan on integrating artistic creativity into the projects I participate in. I am excited to meet and work with all of you soon! Thanks for reading my blog post, and thanks for supporting our work here at Open Books.

Mike, a friend in Oklahoma, wrote this “Obsession” blog today and it struck a chord with me in a major way. After watching a PBS special on Elvis and then hearing of Heath Ledger’s untimely death, Mike wrote, “It’s becoming less and less fathomable to me how we, as a society, seem to feel no culpability or even any sense of shame for what we do to celebrities over and over and over again.”

He talks about taking responsibility for the time we spend feeding into society’s increasingly unhealthy obsession with celebrity — reading intrusive web sites and magazines, watching trash “reality” TV shows, etc. That obsession doesn’t just affect famous people. It trickles down to how we all live our lives — the way young people view their bodies, their self-worth, and their dreams for their futures, the way we choose our politicians and world leaders, the way we each spend our own very valuable time, and so much more.

And thus, after being inspired by Mike’s thoughts, I ask you to consider: What can you do? Do you spend time each day or week as even a tiny part of this societal problem? If you added up the time you spend each week reading so-called “news” about Britney Spears or Tom Cruise (or whoever it will be next week) or watching trash TV, how much would it be? Half an hour? An hour? More? Keep track for a week and add it up. (I’m not immune, and I’m starting my personal tally today.)

And then I urge you to trade at least some of that celebrity obsession time for community service, family time, or even — I know I’m preaching to the choir on this one — reading an old-fashioned book. Instead of turning on FOX or Bravo or VH1, call your grandfather and talk to him about special memories (it will make his day, and probably yours, too!). Instead of surfing gossip or “entertainment” web sites, snuggle up with a classic novel or new nonfiction tome you’ve been meaning to try. Cancel your US Weekly subscription, and sign up for a volunteer program with Open Books. Or if you’re already involved with us (thank you!), add a new service project through VolunteerMatch.org or Idealist.org.

Not only is this an election year, but culturally and politically our society seems to be at a critical turning point. We owe it to ourselves, to our families, to our world, to do our darndest to make a turn in a positive direction. Believe me, YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. I see it in the eyes and smiles of every student who reads with an Open Books volunteer. Yes, we are all busy. Yes, we all have individual lives to lead. But when we reduce the waste in our lives, we will have time to do more where we are needed.

From our friends at VolunteerMatch.orgCall to Action

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service

Monday, January 21, is the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, and once again we are all asked to make it a “day on” by committing to community service. Celebrate the true spirit of a man who said that anyone can be a hero, because anyone can volunteer to serve!

The King Day of Service was signed into law in 1987, and since 1994 Americans have been asked by Congress to use this day to get out and serve in the community. Dr. King himself was an incredible model for service. Between 1957 and 1968, he appeared before crowds over 2,500 hundred times to speak out against injustice. For his commitment, King was awareded the Nobel Peace Prize when he was only 35-years-old — the youngest recipient ever.

Start your Day of Service planning at MLKDay.gov, where VolunteerMatch has partnered with the Corporation for National & Community Service to power a search engine for Day of Service opportunities.

Today there are more than 4,600 Day of Service volunteer opportunities at MLKDay.gov, and you can get involved with everything from MLK Day parades to mural painting and street clean-ups.

Take a moment today to learn about the Day of Service at MLKDay.gov, and then find a place to get out and serve on January 21.

Or here is another inspiring idea on how to reach out in your community today and make positive connections with one another. This was sent to us by a friend of Open Books.

Martin Luther King Day Lunch Project