Shirley A. Jackson has joined the board of the Literacy Coalition of Greater New Haven.  Professor of Sociology at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) and a former chair of that department, she has been a member of the SCSU faculty since 1998.  Her areas of expertise range from social movements and ethnicity in the U.S. to service learning, and her other board memberships include service with the Girl Scouts of Connecticut.  Her Ph.D. is from UC, Santa Barbara.

Her fellow Literacy Coalition board members welcomed Shirley Jackson to her first meeting on February 16.  They thank her SCSU colleague Lorrie Verplaetse, who preceded her on the Coalition board, for her service and also for helping to identify a worthy successor.

The News and Events section of this website includes such opportunities as:

 February 2  Nonprofits interested in applying for a competitive Responsive New Grant from the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and the Valley Community Foundation are invited to participate in a webinar. Attend from your desk(https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/293393638) or in person by emailing dcanning@cfgnh.org. The grant process begins with a submission of a pre-application, due March 2.

 February 4  “Take your child to the library day”

 February 21  Mardi Gras gala and silent auction to benefit New Haven Free Public Library

 March 21  Family Read program begins at Wilson branch of the New Haven Public Library. This free program runs for 10 weeks, Wednesdays through May 23. Parents explore classic children’s literature and receive a new book each week for their child’s library. Free on-site child care and lunch are provided, and the group is facilitated by trained volunteers through the CT Humanities Council. (A Spanish Family Read is planned for later in 2012.) Parents with children ages 0-5 are welcome. Contact Yania Padilla Sierra at (203) 688-8164 or yania.padillasierra@ynhh.org.

The Literacy Coalition of Greater Haven is pleased to announce that it has received a grant for $3200 from the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.  Many thanks to the Community Foundation for supporting the Coalition’s work to reach more communities and organizations throughout the region, including through the LiteracyEveryday website.  The Coalition – a lean organization that depends on volunteers and on the sharing of other partners in the Literacy Resource Center at 4 Science Park – applied only for one of the Foundation’s small grants, so as not to compete with direct providers of literacy services that may be seeking larger grants from the foundation.

New Haven Reads recently launched a new website.  One student who has been receiving tutoring and free books at New Haven Reads since third grade and is now a thriving tenth-grader (and a tutor herself) was featured in a Yale Daily News article, as noted among the News items on this LiteracyEveryday site.  The article mentioned that despite the hundreds of tutors already volunteering at New Haven Reads, more than 200 students are awaiting tutors.  You can help!

June 8 and May 20 blog posts noted that Cara Baruzzi of the New Haven Register had joined the board of the Literacy Coalition and had launched its new Twitter account, http://twitter.com/LiteracyGNH.  Until recently business editor at the Register, she has been named breaking news editor, as part of a “Digital First” reorganization.