Happy New Years
From the Director’s Corner
Happy New Year!!! We are so excited about our new year and new opportunities! I want to thank all of our volunteers for their time and hard work. I hear almost every day how wonderful you are! Students are beginning to read independently without coaxing from their parents. It is so rewarding to hear about children beginning to enjoy reading. Your monthly reports are great and we are getting 100% of your reports. Yes, I read every report. The progress you are making is amazing! Please remember to do a couple of things…continue to take COVID Procedures seriously (masks are imperative) and have fun!
We have developed a program based on Read Across America to be used to “break-up” the monotony of the sessions once a month. It includes several suggested books that can be checked out at any of our libraries. We also want to thank the many community members who have supported us through our start-up phase (2019) and in 2020 getting through the COVID shut-down, partial opening, and our continued work to get back to Pre-COVID numbers (we’re very close). There are so many things we are grateful for during 2020 and so many things we know we will learn and appreciate in 2021.
For those of you who have experienced or had someone close to you who has or had COVID, our thoughts are with you. The loss of my father in May 2020 to COVID hit me directly. Hit, is the word. We’re all doing well and moving forward. Moving Forward appears to be our phrase that is currently most popular around the office. We are grateful for our volunteers who have stepped up to help out in the office. Gratitude…synonym: appreciation. Neither seems to be enough to express my feelings.
Stay safe and healthy. We are building community through literacy.
Dodi Hodges, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Charity Golf Tournament
Our First Annual Charity Golf Tournament was such a success we will have a Second Annual Charity Golf Tournament on Monday, November 22, 2021. Elwin Miles, MM Golf and Travel, were so helpful and made our experience with a golf tournament a joy! We had 99 golfers and gave away over 60 door prizes. The tournament generated $3,100 for PLC!
Funding
We are excited to announce that PLC has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the Chapin Foundation.
We need tutors
As of December 31, 2020, we have 19 students/tutors working together. We have 8 students waiting for a match. If you would like a second student or know a volunteer, please let me know.
The following are students who need a tutor:
5 students (1 adult, 3 students), reading, (C3 Coffee Shop in Conway)
1 adult student, reading, Chapin Memorial Library
1 student, reading, Carolina Forest Library (Dunkin’ Donuts in Carolina Forest)
1 adult, reading, Inlet Square Mall
Other numbers:
1 Student on COVID hold*
8 Tutors on COVID hold*
Meet a Board Member Maria Denney
Maria Denney is a number cruncher. And she is also the Treasurer for Palmetto Literacy Council. Maria provides accounting and tax services to businesses and non profits through her company Beach Business Solutions, LLC established in 2018. Maria, who holds a BS in accounting from Strayer University, lives in Loris with her husband Jeff.
Maria and Jeff, originally from Portsmouth, Virginia relocated to South Carolina in 2014. At the time, she was working as a financial planner, but found that there was a need for quality accounting services in the area. Through extensive networking efforts (she refers to herself as the Networking Queen), Maria was able to grow her business. She services clients mostly through referrals, and assists businesses in accounting and tax returns. She also sets up new companies for individuals.
It was through her extensive networking efforts that Maria first met Dodi and they have become good friends over the years. She has been doing all of the accounting work for PLC since July and also assists the organization by volunteering her time to various events. Most recently, Maria was instrumental in helping to ensure the success of PLC’s First Annual Charity Golf Tournament. She donated the gift bags and also sponsored a hole on behalf of Beach Business Solutions.
Maria is looking forward to her continued work with PLC on its budget in the new year. In overseeing the financial aspects of the organization, she is happy that Dodi can focus on fulfilling the organization’s mission to provide free tutoring services. *COVID hold — Waiting for the virus to subside before coming back to Tutoring Sessions.
COVID and Flu
It is important to remember we require the wearing of masks, sanitizing hands, tables and chairs before and after a tutoring session. COVID is at a new peak that none of as want to experience. If someone is refusing to wear a mask, the tutoring session needs to end immediately. The flu is also peaking. Dr. Hodges will get vaccinated for COVID when her turn comes up and already got the flu shot. Please consult with your doctor about getting the flu and/ or COVID vaccination.
If you are experiencing sinus infection type symptoms, difficulty breathing, and/or unusual fatigue, please get tested for COVID. Negative results submitted to PLC will be required to begin tutoring. We understand that people don’t want to get tested, but it is better safe than sorry. We would hate to see this virus spread from one of our volunteers.
Donated Books
Our sales representative, Heather McGuire, Sundance-Newbridge Publishing, donated new books for our students. We look forward to giving these books to the students as they complete programs and/or stages of their programs!
Volunteer Orientation And Training
Carla Taylor, our Training Coordinator, will conduct our next Volunteer Orientation and Training on January 25, 2021 at 6:00 PM online through the Zoom application. We are in desperate need of tutors. Contact Dodi, Executive Director, to sign-up for the Volunteer Orientation and Training (VOT) or to get more information about the VOT. Once you’ve attended this meeting, then send the office your paperwork requested. It takes just a few minutes to do a background check through SLED. Once this is complete you will be welcomed to the team! Dodi will then contact you if there are students (either an adult or a child) in your area who needs a tutor.
How You Can Support PLC Individual membership:
Individual membership: $25/year Pays for materials for one student
Business membership: $50/year Pays for materials for two students Your business card will be featured in the newsletter and on our website
Donate through palmettoliteracycouncil.org
Consider This
Preston L McKever-Floyd, Secretary of the PLC Board of Directors, is a retired professor and former chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Coastal Carolina University. During his tenure, he co-founded the Women’s and Gender Studies Pro-gram.
McKever-Floyd holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from Virginia State University, a Master of Divinity from Duke University, an ABD in Religion and Literature from Emory University and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of South Carolina. McKever-Floyd is actively engaged on Facebook, inviting visitors to reflect on his daily “Consider This” posts. He shares his thoughts below.
My life purpose is to heal, uplift and to enlighten. Two ways that this has manifested is in my 50-year career as an ordained minister and 35-year career as a professor of philosophy and religious studies. Since my retirement as a university professor, to my surprise, I have found Facebook a vehicle for continuing my work. I created my page to discover and maintain communication with longtime or long-lost high school and college friends, as well as family.
As an avid reader, enjoying reflection on ideas, issues, and life stories, I decided to share some of my ruminations, not settled issues, as most of them are not, so the prompt Consider This was chosen. The object is to inspire readers to reflect at levels deeper than the ordinary knee-jerk responses that seem to be communication currency presently.
The response to the memes, quotes or original ideas posted has been tremendous. There have been heated discussions, and disagreements, but disrespect and personal attacks are not welcomed.
Posts have been extended to Facebook stories and Instagram. I have 5,000 friends and 723 followers on Facebook. People write often expressing their appreciation and introduce themselves in public and encourage me to keep posting. Thus, consider this:
The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch without doing anything. — Albert Einstein
Want to learn more?
Check out our math, reading and writing strategies in our newsletter.
MISSION STATEMENT
To improve the literacy of youth and adults in our community by teaching/tutoring basic literacy skills for those who struggle with reading, writing and/or math.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CHAIR: Dodi Hodges: [email protected]
VICE CHAIR: Shawna Roessler [email protected]
TREASURER: Maria Denney [email protected]
SECRETARY: Preston McKever-Floyd [email protected]
MEMBERS AT LARGE:
FUNDRAISING CO-CHAIRS: Patricia D’Ascoli [email protected], Stephanie Southworth [email protected]
TRAINING COORDINATOR: Carla Taylor [email protected]
MAILING ADDRESS: 1229 38TH Avenue North, #130 Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
PHYSICAL ADDRESS: 1010 5th Avenue North Ext., Suite 101I Surfside Beach, SC 29575
FOR INFORMATION OR QUESTIONS:
OFFICE PHONE: 843-945-9278
OFFICE EMAIL: [email protected]
WEBSITE: www.palmettoliteracy.org
