Tax Day, Financial Literacy

With April 15 Tax Day, here are resources related to financial literacy;

http://www.mymoney.gov

http://www.challenge.treas.gov/educator_info.htm

http://www.jumpstart.org

http://www.360financialliteracy.org

http://www.nfte.com

http://www.ja.org

http://www.newlifecorp.org

According to Angela Carter's New Haven Register article yesterday:
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/04/14/business/ee1taxes0414041410.txt

"Individuals or families who earned less than $49,000 last year still can get their returns prepared at no cost at three area Volunteer Income Tax Assistance centers coordinated by New Life Corp. and the Coalition For Working Families. The VITA locations are open through Thursday at Columbus Family Academy, 255 Blatchley Ave., and Truman School, 114 Truman St., both in New Haven; and West Haven Community House at 227 Elm St., West Haven. Volunteer tax preparers are available from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Ariel Martinez, executive director of New Life, said more than 2,500 filers were helped by the VITA program last year. 'Our mission is to work with individuals and families in increasing their economic security,' Martinez said of the nonprofit association’s work."

Week of the Young Child

Nationally, this is the "week of the young child," with the theme of early learning. http://www.naeyc.org/woyc

Locally, numerous related resources include:

William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund
http://wcgmf.org/documents/doc_12.pdf

Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
http://www.cfgnh.org

United Way, Success by Six
http://www.uwgnh.org/education/success-6

New Haven Early Childhood Education
http://www.nhps.net/node/495

All Our Kin
http://www.allourkin.org

Connecticut Children's Museum
http://www.childrensbuilding.org/

Read to Grow
http://www.readtogrow.org

and many more. . .

Raising Funds for Literacy

Three of the organizations that participate in the Greater New Haven Literacy Coalition have fund-raising events in the coming weeks:

*April 21: Literacy Volunteers' annual Scrabble tournament at the Knights of Columbus building in downtown New Haven http://www.lvagnh.org

*April 26: Read to Grow's evening with Anna Quindlen at Long Wharf Theatre http://www.readtogrow.org

*May 19: Concepts for Adaptive Learning's annual wine-tasting and raffle at Anthony's Ocean View near Lighthouse Point http://www.eachchildlearns.org

Adult literacy, early childhood, technology as a tool for families' educational and economic advancement -- together these three organizations represent many of the ways that members of the region's literacy community are working to strengthen reading skills and opportunities for people of all ages.

Reading, Culture, and 'Quality Time' at Home

The New Haven Independent published this account of last week's Family Literacy Forum, which was conducted in both Spanish and English:

http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/family_literacy_forum_reading_culture_and_quality_time_at_home/

Family Literacy Forum, Mañana

Tomorrow -- Wednesday, March 31, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. -- there will be a Family Literacy Forum at the Fair Haven branch of the New Haven Public Library, 182 Grand Avenue.

The featured speaker is Joyleen Albarracin, home-based manager for Windham Head Start. Her title: ¿Dónde está mi abuelita? (Where is my grandmother?)

Junta for Progressive Action and the Greater New Haven Literacy Coalition, in partnership with the New Haven Free Public Library, invite you to attend.

RSVP: info@gnhliteracy.org

St. Patrick's Day for Literacy

According to Thomas Cahill's New York Times opinion piece today, "Turning Green With Literacy":

"Patrick's converts . . . put down their weapons and took up their pens. They copied out the great Greco-Roman books, many of which they didn't really understand, thus saving in its purest form most of the classical library. The Irish fanned out across Europe, salvaging books wherever they could, making copies, reassembling libraries and teaching the newly settled barbarians of the continent to read and write."

Cahill asks, "Why celebrate the Irish? Because they saved Western civilization's books."

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/17/opinion/17cahill.html?emc=eta1

Lucille Clifton, 1936-2010

I want to alert readers to the passing this week of poet Lucille Clifton. I don't get a chance to read much poetry these days, but as soon as I have the time I will be revisiting Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems and Quilting Poems, my favorite Clifton collections. Lucille Clifton was born in New York, but spent a great deal of time in Baltimore, Maryland, my hometown. I think of her as a Maryland poet; indeed, she was poet laureate of Maryland for several years. I highly recommend seeking out one of her collections.

--Susan Monroe
. . .

Another New Havener, Elizabeth Alexander, had these reflections about Lucille Clifton's passing in the New Yorker:

"I do not think there is an American poet as beloved as Clifton, or one whose influence radiated as widely."

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2010/02/remembering-lucille-clifton.html