On March 6th, I will be doing a fundraiser for Literacy Volunteers of Greater Waterbury, a very worthy and remarkable organization with which I am quite proud to be associated. I am told the event is from 1:30 to 4:00, but there are other things taking place and I’m not sure what time my “presentation” will be. I’m hoping I’m not meant to be presenting myself for 3 and 1/2 hours. But I know there are other things taking place at the event and will let you know more as I know. It really is a great organization. For more information, please look here.
Good for you Ann what a great cause! Best of luck with your presentation!
Cupcake
http://www.thefamily-table.blogspot.com
it sounds like a great organization and great event. wish i could go!
Hi Ann, I wish I could go, too! (AND I bet I could listen to you for 3 1/2 hours!!!!!). Have fun!
Ann, I see that they’re including a “spring fashion show” into the mix. I wonder if you’ll be walking down the runway in pair of capris before your presentation.
I wish I could be there. How fun!Gosh- it will almost be spring time!
Seriously? Is literacy really a problem in WATERBURY, CT???!!!
Stacy, I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or what. Yes, it’s a very big problem in Waterbury, CT.
Sorry to go off topic here; a random question……when are we discussing Dracula? I’m almost finished (work has really gotten in the way lately), and I wanted to know what my deadline is. It’s sometime this week, right??
And a side comment–I think literacy is a big problem everywhere–much bigger than we can even realize.
Sounds like a worthy event and they sure are lucky to have you, Ann, on their team. You do so much for your community. And I second what Barbara says. Literacy is an enormous problem in the United States. Educational attainment, sad to say, does not reflect reading levels. I am in health care and one of the challenges is writing patient education materials that reflect a 5th-6th grade reading level (about 25% of American adults). It is shocking to consider this fact: most American adults read at an 8th grade level. Most patient education materials are written at a college level. No wonder why there are so many issues of noncompliance!
And Dracula – an enormously satisfying read. I looked forward to snuggling under my covers and taking in that book – it was so lush in every way. Can’t wait to discuss.
I know those statistics are true but I hadn’t thought about the problem it presents in the healthcare situation. Really, we lag behind so many countries in education, it’s a disgrace.
Isn’t the word we want here illiteracy?
Ha, Annie, you are correct. Literacy is NOT the problem, it is illiteracy. I think that when some people hear the word Connecticut they think of towns like Westport or Greenwich, but we have many struggling communities in CT, and throughout New England, that were once thriving mill towns but now have serious problems with unemployment and poverty. Waterbury is one of those places and Tina Agati and other volunteers I have met who live in and around Waterbury, just love their community, they have deep family roots there, and they try to do their part in helping make it a better place.
Barbara, I’m so glad you asked about Dracula. I am almost finished. I got very carried away with the ancestry thing but could be done by …did we say Thursday? Or I’m happy to push it back a week or two. What do you all think?
Point taken. Illiteracy, and literacy, is obviously a big problem all over Connecticut. . . if even well read folks and writers like Ann don’t know the difference.
Knock yourselves out.
I actually know that CT has middle, working, and lower classes (though I’m guessing this is less than 10 percent of the population), but the privileged classes are the ones that give the state a bad name and rep for being, well, Connecticut.
What’s so scary about Connecticut . . . losing your tennis racket at the Pottery Barn?
Stacy, I live in Connecticut, and I’ve never lost my tennis racket at Pottery Barn. I have, however, had my car stolen from the parking lot of a shopping mall that houses a Pottery Barn. Does that count?
I think you ought to visit Connecticut sometime. Skip Greenwich, New Canaan, and Westport, and spend some time in Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford, and Naugatuck, as a starting point. I’d say that comprises more than 10% of the population.
Then I think you could make a more accurate assessment of the literacy problem in CT. And, whatever you do, don’t go near a Pottery Barn.
Aislinn,
Like you, I didn’t lose my tennis racket at a Pottery Barn. I did, however, lose my mind, with all those candles and slip covers. Who can keep all that scent and color coordination and interior design straight, except for Bev, of course.
Sorry to hear about your car. Call if you need a ride. I’d be more than happy to give you a lift–anywhere–even back to the Pottery Barn.
Colleen, You are such a hoot. Thanks for the laugh!
Colleen, Your just adorable! Aislinn, that stinks about the car! Did you at least get some good exercise in when you walked home?
Ann, you are involved in so many great things for your community, Thank you for all that you do, … it is so easy to sit back and do nothing and so many do.!
Hi there, I fell upon your blog and this posting when I was searching for a way to contact you regarding Literacy Volunteers on the Green, and dang I see Tina has enlisted your support!
I believe Wendy Carlson, who is on our board, may have spoken with you about our organization a year or so ago. We are the new kids in the area; we established the organization in 2005 and we cover Litchfield County. We received much needed advice and help along the way from Tina and Vanessa. As with some of the comments to your post, we, too, were surprised to find among residents of the Litchfield hills the rate of illiteracy and the inability to speak English. We began with a small group out of New MIlford, and to date, we’ve served more than 500 students from north in Salisbury to south in Danbury. Thank you for your support of the mission of our fellow literacy volunteers!
With best wishes,
Anne Maitland, co-founder, board member LVG
P.S. Love your books and your blog
Thanks Anne, I have a few friends who volunteer with your group. They love it!
Ann, saw your feature in today’s Republican-American. I will love following your blog for these reasons:
-you love Scott Haney…he’s the biggest hoot..I just donated a piece of art for an upcoming auction he’s emceeing
-you love dogs…I love them too, especially my little guy Riley-people laugh at his fleece coat, but I don’t care..I would take a bite for him..he’s the reason I create dog collages
-you like rowing…I took this on in my forties with the New Haven rowing club-look out twenty-something’s!!!
-I sense that you are a kind person who keenly knows that illiteracy is not defined by geography, but by circumstance
(I know this…I live in Waterbury)
-your blog is really interesting