Books For Kids - Erie | Newsletter | Vol 16 No 2 Spring 2006


	Books For Kids, Erie Chapter

Volume 17 No. 2 Spring 2007	An affiliate of The Books For Kids Foundation, New York, NY
Spelling Bee a Huge Success
Board Members President Dean Baldwin, Ph.D. Vice-President Traci Teudhope Secretary Juan Fernandez, Ph.D. Treasurer Bob Monahan, CPA Members Kathleen Cantrell Donna Gloekler Shantel Hilliard Jane Levin Mary Connerty Mary Jo Melvin, Ph.D. Patty Puline Florence Smith Jim Voss, CPA Webmaster Frank Singer		Corporate Spelling Bee at Junior's Last Laugh It was 6:30 at Junior's Last Laugh on March 20, and already the joint was jumpin', as they say. The Frank Singer Trio was on the stage playing jazz, the spellers were finding their tables and donning their costumes, the judges were getting last minute instructions from Mary Jane Koenig, M.C. Scott Wludyga was testing the mike, and spectators were filling empty seats and piling their plates from the buffet table. By the time the evening was over, 15 teams representing 14 sponsors had spelled their way through five rounds, and now only two teams were left - one representing the Northwestern PA Council of Teachers of English, the other representing Barbara Welton and John Mir, Attorneys. Judges Mary Jo Koenig, Sean Lafferty, and Judge Michael Dunlavey had to dig deeply into their lists for difficult words to challenge the two finalists. In the end the English teachers took home first prize, the lawyers were second, but everyone who participated was a winner, for the evening had proven to be fun for everyone. With crazy costumes from	Little Caesar's, National Fuel, and CASA, and lots of spirit from all the teams, the evening sped by. Throughout, spectators were bidding on 30 goody baskets in silent and "Chinese" auctions, while others purchased 50-50 tickets. "We want to do it again next year," was heard ringing around the room, for everyone had thoroughly enjoyed the evening. And, indeed, we will be back next year, with another chance for teams of three adults to spell their way through the evening. Special Thanks Many people contributed to the success of this our first spelling bee, but among those who must be mentioned particularly are members of the planning committee: Dean Baldwin, Sheila Baldwin, Rev. Charles Brock, Donna Gloekler, Mary Jane Koenig, Jackie Jennings, Jane Levin, and Ron Simoenetti. We owe an especially big thank you to Catherine Carlson, whodid all the lay-out work for the evening's program. And we must tip our hats to Debbie and Doug Richardson and the whole staff of Junior's Last Laugh for their generous support of the event!
Books for Kids, Erie Chapter P.O. Box 3059 Erie, PA 16508 (814) 898-6214 ________



Verizon Grants $5,000
With a $5,000 grant from Verizon, Inc., Books for Kids will be able to purchase hundreds of multi-cultural books for Erie's minority pupulations. As the grant application noted, purchasing books for Erie's African American, Asian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European children is very expensive. While we can purchase most of the books we give away at a cost of between 25 cents to $3, multi-cultural books are often $10 to $20 each because of limited audiences and high production costs. With the $5,000 grant from Verizon, supplemented by $2,000 of our normal budget, Books for Kids will be able to purchase a significant supply of multi-cultural books. Another consideration is to provide books in languages other than English. Many immigrant parents have not yet mastered English, and thus they need books in Spanish, Serbo-Croatian, Russian or Arabic if they are to participate in in-home	reading With money from the Verizon grant, Books for Kids will, especially with the help of board member Kathleen Cantrell, owner of the Erie Book Store, be able to purchase books to meet these special needs. Kathleen has access to a wide variety of publishers, and she keeps a keen eye peeled for sales and remainders, so that we can stretch our limited resources as far as possible. Agencies that particularly want multi-cultural books include the International Institute, the Hispanic Council, the Martin Luther King Center, the Neighborhood Art House, and the Booker T. Washington Center. Other agencies serving minority populations are of course eligible to apply for these books. We are in our new Headquarters It took three successive Saturdays and the help of the boys from the Harborcreek Youth Services, but Books for Kids is now moved into its new facility - Bethany Outreach Center at 254 East 10^th St. As much as we enjoyed our relationship with Gifts for Kids and our facility on Holland St., we are happy to be in our new location. Bethany has provided us with a 936 square foot room where we can both store and display our books. Agencies and schools who come to pick out books will have the advantage of convienient parking, an elevator that will take them directly from the parking lot to the lower level, and trolleys that can help	them move the books from our store room to their vehicles. We are very grateful to the good people of Bethany Outreach for providing this space at a very reasonable cost and for being so generous and cooperative as we moved. Special thanks for their help in moving to to Dean Baldwin, Juan Fernandez, Jane Levin, Traci Teudhope, and Florence Smith of the BFK Board, plus the staff at Harborcreek Youth Services, Ron Barthelmes, David Cadena, Bren Lindell, and Jesse Tuedhope for their hard work - and their trucks! Check the Date on Your Label When is it time to renew your membership in Books for Kids, Erie Chapter? Check the mailing label on this newsletter. The date just above your name provides the date your membership expires. From time to time, we try to send reminders to those whose memberships have lapsed, hut it saves us time and money when members renew on their own. Help us keep our costs to a minimum by checking your expiration date and renewing your membership when it's due. Meanwhile, thanks to all of our supporters for their loyalty and contributions over the years.
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Jackie Jennings, Donna Gloekler, Traci Teudhope, Dean Baldwin	Spirit Winners Contemporary Ophthalmology
Traci Teudhope and the National Fuel Team	Winners NWPCTE, Mary Margosian, Ron Hayes Henry Shader; Runners-up Welton/Mir Attorneys
Susan Kanonczyk of Verizon presents $5,000 check to Dean Baldwin	Runners-up Judy Newlin, Barb Welton, John Mir
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CASA's Bees, Costume Award Winners	Jeanne Eckert, Meg Britton, Barb Ryan
Sheila Baldwin, Lynn McBrier, Tammy Bachelor "Hot and Ready" from Little Caesar's	Belle Koncewicz, Amy Dougherty, Carol Gettinger Verizon's Team One
Scott Wludyga Spells it Out	Judge Michael Dunlavey, Mary Jane Koenig and Sean Lafferty, Judges
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A Speller's Letter The following letter expresses the sentiments of many who participated in the Spelling Bee. Dear Books for Kids: I want to tell you that I had a great time at the first annual spelling bee held on March 20, 2007. I was privileged to be on the Verizon Team One with Belle Koncewicz and Carol Gettinger - two of my very good friends and fellow librarians. We had a blast! I haven't been in a spelling bee since about sixth grade, and initially I was very nervous, but it all ended up to be so much fun. Thank you Books for Kids, WQLN, and Jr's. Last Laugh for such a delightful time. I hope you made lost of money, too! Sincerely yours, Amy M. Daugherty, Erie, PA. Thank you, Amy, both for your kind words and for being part of a great evening. We'll see you next year! New and Renewing Members As always, we thank all of those who have joined Books for Kids recently, and all of our faithful supporters who have renewed their memberships. Major Contributors $250.^oo+ Attorneys Barb Welton and John Mir Contemproary Ophthalmology Erie County CASA Erie Insurance Group Eriez Manufacturing Felix and Gloekler, CPA G.E. Foundation Hill, Barth, & King, LLC Little Caesar's Pizza Mr. R. Laurie Monahan and Monahan, CPA	National Fuel Gas Northwestern PA Council of Teachers of English Drs Ricert and Villella, D.O. Schaffner, Knight, Minnaugh, CPA Verizon Young Erie Professionals Benefactors $100.^oo+ Martha Hilbert Patrons $50.^oo+ Ethel Kochel Cathy Schlund-Vials St. Andrew Food Pantry Dr. Dolores Sarafinski South End Benefit Association Sponsors $25.^oo+ Mary and Fred Brundige Marilyn Melhuish Carol Pella Glen Vest Waterford Community Food Pantry Friends $10.^oo+ Helen Camp Becky Carey Mr. & Mrs. Lyman Cohen Elbert & Helen Friend Jan Gatti Ivan and Nancy Thompson We Get Letters From time to time we like to share with you some of the thank you letters we receive from recipients of our books. The ones from the kids, of course, are probably required by their teachers, but it's still fun to read what they say about the books they have just received.	The art work is often fun, too, but for the moment we are able to include only the words. Dear Jane Levin: I want to thank you for giving us books and for everything. I want to thank you again. So far I really enjoy it!! "Bridge to Terabithia" Love? Tessie Thanks for the book. "Shiloh." I really like the book. I love reading. Thanks, Heather To Whom The May Concern: I want to thank you for the books. You've given me a chance to read to my daughter and to myself in my spare time. Thank you. Sincerely, Madison and Tiffany Dear Ms. Levin: This thank you note is from Darlin, a 6 year old boy from Honduras, who was just learning English. He was thrilled to get the books, and he especially liked the squirrel book that was written in both English and Spanish. Thank you for providing these books for the children. They enjoy receiving them almost as much as I enjoy giving them. Anne D'Albora Shriner's Hospital For all the kids and their teachers, we say thianks to our supporters, who made these gufts possible!
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The Books for Kids Foundation, Erie Chapter P.O. Box 3059 Erie, PA 16508	Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Erie, PA Permit No. 943
WON'T YOU PLEASE HELP US? Please use this coupon to lend us your support. The children and youth of Erie County will thank you. [Has your membership expired? The date on the mailing label indicates your last donation.] ____ Major Donor $250+ ____ Benefactor $100+ ____ Patron $50+ ____ Sponsor $25+ ____ Friend $10+ Mail the completed form and check payable to "Books for Kids, Erie Chapter," P.O. Box 3059 Erie, PA 16508. Donations to Books for Kids are tax deductible for those who itemize.
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