One Small Thing

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Julia Cain

HELPED are those who find the courage to do at least one small thing each day to help the existence of another–plant, animal, river, or human being. They shall be joined by a multitude of the timid.

HELPED are those who lose their fear of death; theirs is the power to envision the future in a blade of grass.

HELPED are those who love and actively support the diversity of life; they shall be secure in their differences.

HELPED are those who KNOW.

— “The Temple of My Familiar” by American writer Alice Walker, born today in 1944

Writers Today

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Julia Cain

Reflect on your present blessings, of which every man has many; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.
— Charles Dickens, born today in 1812

If enough people think of a thing and work hard enough at it, I guess it’s pretty nearly bound to happen, wind and weather permitting.
— Laura Ingalls Wilder, born today in 1867

I don’t believe in fear of divine vengeance, and I do believe in justice and equality.
— Sinclair Lewis, born today in 1885

Early Stages

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Julia Cain

From “Why Children’s Theater Matters” by Danielle Wood of Education.com:

Want to boost literacy? Teach your child to imagine the unimaginable? Cultivate curiosity? Get thee to the theater, and bring your kids.

The children’s theater movement is led by Europe, but the US is not far behind. And we’re not just talking about the bustling theater town of New York. The third largest children’s theater in the world is tucked away in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Other mid-sized cities from Dallas, to Tempe, to Nashville, are also cooking up kids? fare in full-time children venues. […]
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Esperanza

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Julia Cain

She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she got or was she sorry because she couldn’t be all the things she wanted to be. Esperanza. I have inherited her name, but I don’t want to inherit her place by the window.

Because the way you grow old is kind of like an onion or like the rings inside a tree trunk or like my little wooden dolls that fit one inside the other, each year inside the next one. That’s how being eleven years old is. You don’t feel eleven. Not right away. It takes a few days, weeks even, sometimes even months before you say Eleven when they ask you. And you don’t feel smart eleven, not until you’re almost twelve. That’s the way it is.

— The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, born today in 1954

And in this spirit, learn more about our literacy charities right here.

Thanksgiving Week

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Julia Cain

Friendships begin with liking or gratitude — roots that can be pulled up.

— English novelist George Eliot

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

— 35th US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy

This Thanksgiving week, we’re giving thanks for the incredible nonprofit community of Greater Washington — for cleaner rivers and parklands, innovative schools and enrichment programs, diverse theater and dance performances, and aid for our region’s neediest residents.

Are you a Catalogue nonprofit with particular volunteer or support needs this week? Let us know so that we can feature you right here!

Early Economics

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Julia Cain

Back in April, we talked about Elmo’s take on financial literacy for all ages. Namely, should (and how could) financial literacy be taught alongside traditional literacy to Sesame Street’s target demographic? Today, here’s another take from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (not a furry red monster), “Teaching kids financial literacy? Don’t forget entrepreneurship:”

You teach them the value of hard work and the importance of telling the truth, how to be a loyal friend and a good citizen. But you might be overlooking one of the most important lessons you can teach your children to help ensure they do well in life — financial literacy. […]

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In The News …

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Julia Cain

DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (WUSA9: Brightwood): “Councilmember Mary M. Cheh and colleagues [joined] the [Catalogue non-profit] DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy on the steps of the John A. Wilson Building for a press conference to highlight the continuing challenges the District of Columbia faces with teen pregnancy and its effect on the economic well being of our residents and the city at large. […] Due to the work of groups like the DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, the District of Columbia has recently seen a reduction in the rates of pregnancies for teenage women aged 15-19 years old; however, rates in the District far exceed the national average.” In DC, the rate is 67 out of every 1,000.

Michael on Being Down for Da Struggle (People’s District): Michael, a poet, vividly desribes how Catalogue non-profit Free Minds Book Club & Writing workshop made a critical difference in his life. He recounts, “I eventually started getting into trouble with the law. Which also lead to me going to prison more times than anyone would ever want to. [Free Minds] really helped me become more diverse and more open minded. I started to do a lot of reading; also, I became very intrigued by poetry […] Every Friday, I would get up early to prepare to go to the book club because it was a way to free my mind. Free Minds Book Club gave me a positive outlet to express myself and has opened several doors for opportunity and success.”

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Reading Early

Posted on October 18, 2011 by Julia Cain

From “More than 100 cities, counties agree to push early literacy” in yesterday’s Post:

Washington DC, Baltimore, and six communities in Virginia are among the more than 150 cities and counties across the country that are pledging to concentrate on early literacy efforts to ensure that children can read by the end of third grade.

The Campaign for Grade Level Reading is a collaborative effort by dozens of funders to make sure that all children, especially those from low-income families who often enter kindergarten already behind, learn to read. Signing onto the campaign are big cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston and Atlanta, and the entire state of Arizona. […]

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Mutuality

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Julia Cain

My conception of the audience is of a public each member of which is carrying about with him what he thinks is an anxiety, or a hope, or a preoccupation which is his alone and isolates him from mankind; and in this respect at least the function of a play is to reveal him to himself so that he may touch others by virtue of the revelation of his mutuality with them. If only for this reason I regard the theater as a serious business, one that makes or should make man more human, which is to say, less alone.

— American playwright Arthur Miller, born today in 1915

When Creating …

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Julia Cain

The present moment is creative, creating with an unheard-of intensity.

— pioneer of modern architecture Le Corbusier, born today in 1887

A well-composed book is a magic carpet on which we are wafted to a world that we cannot enter in any other way.

— American novelist Caroline Gordon, born today in 1895

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Tag Archives: Literacy