Walk thru History for Literacy
By: Audrey Harris, president - HG McCully Downstate Chapter
     Thank you to all the members of the HG McCully Downstate and Upstate Chapters for all your hard work on Oct. 17. Our literacy walk was a tremendous success. Together, we made over $15,000.
     In addition to tidbits of history on our route instructions, and in the midst of some cool winds, Col. Edward Hand (aka Bill Agress/VZ retiree) led over 100 participants thru the city streets, entertaining us with stories of Trenton and American Revolutionary history. Trenton City Police and Capital Health EMTs were on hand to lead and follow our parade thru town. We had musical entertainment (thank you Rob/VZ technician), face-painters (Janice Knodel and my niece Carrie), balloons, pumpkins, flowers, blood pressure health- screening (thank you to Laurie from Capital Health) and our Verizon trucks with VZ and Pioneer banners displayed for all to see.
     And we have some great ideas to make next year even more successful and more entertaining. I know everyone attending had a wonderful time and enjoyed all our efforts. Thank you again to everyone for all your hard work.

Leslie Cabanach to represent Verizon at Annual Meeting
by: Lorraine Gettis, VP - Paumanok Chapter
     Leslie Cabanach from the Paumanok Chapter's Suffolk Council was selected as an excellent example of a “new" pioneer who is making a difference.  She will represent the Verizon TelecomPioneers at the TelecomPioneers Annual Meeting in San Antonio.  Each of the new Pioneer representatives from all the groups will make a presentation to the general assembly at the conference about being a new Pioneer. Leslie began her Pioneer career three years ago. She was the environmental chair last year and is publicity chair this year. She set up a "giving corner" in her office to collect all the things the Pioneers collect -- from tabs to eye glasses.

Read to children: Make a difference in their lives
By: Verizon Literacy Campus Project Team
     Did you know that 26% of 3-5 year old children, not yet enrolled in kindergarten, recognized all the letters in the alphabet when they were read to more than three times a week? Only 14% of this same age group were able to recognize all the letters if they were read to fewer than three times a week.
     Those of you who are involved in reading to children or making more books available to families and school libraries are critical to improving children’s literacy skills. Want to learn more? Go to the Verizon Literacy Campus (VLC) Library at http://www.literacycampus.org/campus/library_cat.asp?cat=Literacy%20Facts to access a variety of Literacy Fact Sheets that contain information about the relationship between children’s’ literacy levels and academic success. Be sure to visit the VLC Online Courses at http://www.literacycampus.org/course/index.asp for two new courses on Selecting and Sharing Books with Young Children.
     (U.S. Department of Education. (1999). National household education survey, 1999. Washington, DC: Author.)

AGB donates computers to area schools
By: Denise Darden-Woody, president - AGB
     At the beginning of the school term, the Alexander Graham Bell Chapter donated two computers to area elementary schools. One computer was donated to St. Anthony’s Catholic School in Washington, DC., and the other to the Doswell E. Brooks Elementary School in Capital Heights, Maryland, for their English to Speakers of Other Languages class. The students at Brooks Elementary did not previously have a working computer and plan to use the new computer to type and print reports, play games, use English CDs, access the internet, and do research. Pictured is the Brooks Elementary ESOL Class.

Concho Valley Club partners with the Verizon Foundation to establish scholarship
By: Curtis C. Scotty, Pres. - Concho Valley Club
     On August 6, 2004, the Concho Valley Telephone Pioneers Club (CVTPC) of the Verizon West Chapter established a $10,000 scholarship fund at Angelo State University (ASU) in San Angelo, TX, with matching funds by the Verizon Foundation. Original funding of $5,000 was given at the time with the remaining $5,000 to be provided to ASU within 48 months.
     The scholarship, to be administered by a Scholarship Committee appointed by the President of ASU, is to assist deserving students who qualify from high schools in any of the 17 Concho Valley Texas counties, with book fees and expenses while attending ASU.
     CVTPC is very happy to report that efforts to raise the remaining balance of $5,000 were successfully exceeded on October 13, 2004, thereby making the Scholarship Fund an "Endowed" Scholarship. All future contributions from the membership and the public at large, along with the original $10,000 funding, will become the principal, or investment, from which earnings will provide funds to the appropriate student recipient(s).

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November 2, 2004