January 2008: Need to Read Book Club introduction meeting.

 

February 2008: We went to the Spartanburg Repertory Company children's opera, Harmoonia, by Stephen Paulus.

 

After the show, we received new books about classical composers and read them to the children at the Emergency Shelter. We also served cupcakes and made book marks with them to earn service hours for our "Reading for Others" Service Project.

 

March 2008: As a book club, we volunteered at JamboRead at the Spartanburg County Library in order to earn service hours.

 

April 2008: We read biography books about Marian Anderson. After our book discussion in the parlor in the Blackman Music Building at Converse College, we took a campus tour and visited the Marian Anderson statue in front of Twichell Auditorium.

 

Ely MacPhail, Converse student, was our tour guide.

She arranged for Shareese Johnson, vocal performance major,

to meet us at the statue and sing Summertime, from Porgy and Bess. WOW!!!

 

May/June 2008: We read books about horses to correspond with a field trip to a horse riding stable. We also watched the Belmont Stakes on TV. We hoped to celebrate Big Brown winning the triple crown, while eating our "big, brown brownies!" Oh well... the brownies were still good.

 

We went to the Soup Kitchen to help the Mabry Middle School chapter of NTRBC distribute new books to children. Then we enjoyed lunch at a local restaurant and discussed our animal books further.

 

Click on picture below to see more...

 

We also enjoyed our "Reading for Others" Service Project Book-buying meeting at Barnes & Noble on Friday, June 20th and our book distribution event at Ellen Hines Smith Girls' Home on Monday, June 23rd. (See opposite page for more info.)

 

 

July 2008: We are reading mystery books this month and look forward to a mystery party along with our book discussion.

 

 

  

 

Anchor House Chapter

2008

@ Spartanburg Children's Shelter

Spartanburg , SC

 

 

Click on the picture below for

an inspiring slideshow of our

"Reading for Others" Service Project event:

 

 

 

"READING FOR OTHERS" news:

We read 20,991 pages &

worked 33 service hours

encouraging reading among children

 to raise $816.07

to buy 126 new books

for girls at the

Ellen Hines Smith Girls' Home.

 

 

The following are quotes from some of the girls at the

Girls' Home after our Book Distribution:

 

"It felt like someone really cared about us, besides the staff."

 

"It was very important because it showed us that

the girls at the Anchor House cared about us.

They worked really hard to prepare for this -

they read, picked out the books, made the food..."

 

"I felt cared for. Here were girls in a similar situation to us, and they were giving us the means

to escape from our situation."

 

"They chose us

out of all the other kids they could have given to."

 

"We mattered!"

 

 

Gabrielle Leopard, Program Coordinator at the EHSGH, was excited to report the following:

 

"It is great to have such good books for the girls to read. We are using them to continue the girls' education through the summer."

 

"The girls decided to set aside an hour each day just for reading; an hour that used to be spent watching television."

 

"Many of the girls have already completed their three books and are now trading books with the other girls."

 

"You can not comprehend the impact you have made at the Ellen Hines Smith Girls' Home. Thank you."

 

"For the first time, all of the girls asked to go to the library, which is something that they have never done before."

 

"Before your book distribution, I would have considered only ONE girl an enthusiastic reader. Now, most ALL of them

are enjoying reading."

 
 
 
 
 
  
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