Received: (from news@localhost) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.7.6/8.7.3) id NAA20673 for nifl-family@novel.nifl.gov; Thu, 26 Dec 1996 13:44:49 -0500 (EST) Path: literacy.nifl.gov!nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov From: QMEIN@aol.com Newsgroups: nifl.family Subject: ideas you can (hopefully) use Date: 26 Dec 1996 13:44:46 -0500 Organization: National Institute for Literacy Lines: 46 Sender: listproc@literacy.nifl.gov Distribution: nifl Message-ID: <961226134224_1721718279@emout02.mail.aol.com> Reply-To: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov NNTP-Posting-Host: literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Status: O X-Status: I'm sorting work-related piles of resources and am running across ideas that I'd like to share. The first one is kind of commercial, so take it or leave it. General Mills is helping schools with a fundraising opportunity: For every boxtop your school collects, the school can get 15 cents. This might be a good project for parents to organize and run on their own. The key, I've found, with projects like this, is enlisting a friendly community group to help - a women's church group, a retirement center. They like to help and it doesn't cost them anything. Plus it gives a nice boost to the numbers you'll be able to collect. To sign up, check out website: www.boxtops4education.com Related activities: How many boxtops would we have to collect to make $100? Chart or graph your collection efforts. Have children help count the boxtops. Also, good activity for parents in following directions and working as a team. My other idea source: I have been a part of the leadership in a Boy Scout troop and scout leaders receive a magazine called Scouting. There are many articles that are pure scouting, but they always have an article called Family Talk, which could be good fodder for a parenting discussion or adult reading activity. They also usually have a feature on free "stuff", pamphlets, contests, posters.. Check with your local Scouting office, library or scouting friends to get a copy. Another way to get free copies of magazines (- I got this idea from a Head Start literacy publication) Find a friendly postmaster who is willing to help with literacy programs. Post offices can donate the undeliverable magazines, catalogues, books, free products to schools and educational institutions. We picked up a box or so a week from our post office. Then we had materials for parents to use. We always went through them first before we put them out for parents and kids. (There's some strange stuff out there.) The trick is to find a small enough post office that you aren't totally overwhelmed, or that you have enough help to sort and distribute the materials. Also, if you tell the postmaster that you are going to pick them up, be sure to do it. They collect rather quickly. Anyone else have ideas to share? Cathy Lindsley family literacy specialist, State of Oregon
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