Marion County Literacy Council’s 2nd Annual Team Scrabble Event at Ocala Country Club on October 29th
Chaired by Bobby Genovese of BG Capital
Ocala, October 12, 2015 – Team Scrabble — the fun event in which teams of 8 compete against each other — will be held for the second year by the Marion County Literacy Council (MCLC) on Thursday evening, October 29th from 6-8:30. The event takes place at the Country Club of Ocala, 6823 SE 12th Circle, Ocala 34480. It’s not too late to sponsor a team of 8 for $1,000 or to purchase an individual ticket for $50, contact Summer Gill at (352) 690-7323 or summer@marionliteracy.org.
Executive Director Summer Gill announced that this year’s Team Scrabble is chaired by Bobby Genovese of BG Capital, who is also presenting sponsor.
MCLC thanks the following Ocala organizations for sponsoring their teams:
Presenting Sponsor: Bobby Genovese, BG Capital
About this event and the Marion County Literacy Council – “Team Scrabble” in the Fall and “Kiss A Horse” in the Spring are the Marion County Literacy Council’s major fund raising events. These help fund tutoring and group instruction to aid individuals of all ages become self-sufficient. Programs include adult basic education; GED preparation; ESOL (English as a Second Language); computer, math and financial literacy workshops, and citizenship preparation. In the past 12 months, the Literacy Council’s 113 volunteer tutors and 2 staff members have served over 400 adults. Visit marionliteracy.org on the web or on facebook.
Marion County Literacy Council partners with Ocala Symphony Orchestra to help raise funds to help adults in Marion County work on their literacy needs!!
Here are two easy ways to help us help others!Please consider us in your end of year giving:
Marion County Literacy Council
120 SW 5 St
Ocala, Fl 34471
Please call the office at (352) 690-7323 and ask for Summer.
Become a Tutor: We need dedicated and motivate volunteers who want to help change lives. No foreign language or teaching experience is necessary. Give us a call and we will fill you in on how easy it is to become a tutor.
I’m so excited about the plans to grow our services for our students and community.
Early this summer we were able to expand our services into Marion Oaks. We are already in the process of adding a second full class of students and hope to add a couple more by summer. We have also started two new classes: conversational English for our ESOL students and a class specifically focused on increasing their writing abilities.
In 2015, we will begin adding in more health and financial literacy classes for our students. Once again, this year, we will partner with United Way to offer free tax preparation and filing at the Council offices.
The biggest expansion you will see in 2015 will be focused on addressing literacy from a holistic approach. As you know, a child’s first teacher is their parent and it’s been proven that if a child’s parents are illiterate they are twice as likely as their peers to be functionally illiterate. Family literacy is the only way to tackle both childhood and adult literacy and make a lasting positive impact. We will be working with the Marion County Public Library, school system and other community entities to make sure we are targeting the families that need the most help. Our primary focus will be the parents of those students already seeking assistance with literacy issues. With this new approach we can support the family as a whole to better their lives and break the cycle of illiteracy.
One of the greatest challenges we have faced is getting the word out about our organization. We have started the process of updating our website and logo. As our website is our front door to the world, we need to make sure that door is attractive and easy to open so be on the lookout for a new look and re-launch in 2015. As social media becomes the prevailing source of information for our mobile society we have greatly increased our Facebook presence by more than 270 followers since September. This is a wonderful, fun and free way to reach our friends instantly. If you have not “liked” our page yet, please do! You won’t be sorry! Click here to go to our Facebook Page
When first asked the question of “Why do you tutor?” I immediately thought “Oh, I’ve asked myself the same question on various occasions.”
On Monday and Tuesdays I voluntarily tutor students in pre-GED reading, writing, and mathematics. In addition to the eight students who I help with their GED-sharpening skills, I also tutor a high school senior. Three of my students have specific learning challenges such as autism and dyslexia which I derive the greatest joy from teaching and working with. When working with any student that I know will be a success the “Aha!” moment has been and is a hallmark sign of their understanding and comprehension.
The “Aha!” moment occurs when a student of mine finally grasps a challenging concept and we both know that they have laid to rest any uncertainty that they will master the subject material. When giving a lesson on how to multiply fractions, knowing that only weeks earlier they were timid about the idea of fractions in general, to witness their eyes light up when they learn that all that they must do is multiply numerator by numerator and denominator by denominator- they’re essentially jumping for joy.
I tutor because it brings me so very much happiness to observe someone who thought they were educationally unfit learn all mathematical, reading, and writing skills they need to have in order to pass their GED. It just feels good to know you are helping someone better their life.
Lots of new and exciting things are happening at the Literacy Council. The obvious, I’m new! On Sept. 2 I had the honor of becoming the new executive director here at the Council. It’s been a pleasure getting to know all of the amazing volunteers, tutors and students that make up the organization. I am truly inspired and excited about our future.A little bit about me. I was born and raised in Ocala and I’m a proud graduate of the University of Florida. You will hear me say Gandhi’s quote “Be the change you wish to see in the world” over and over again and that is how I live my life. I have worked at OneBlood, United Way of Marion County and as Campaign Director for now Superintendent of Schools, George Tomyn. I serve on the board for Fine Arts for Ocala, Leadership Marion/Ocala Youth, 2035 Leadership Committee with the City of Ocala and I’m a member of Junior League of Ocala and Young Professionals Ocala.
I look forward to sharing all of the upcoming activities of the Council with you and growing our organization.
19% of Marion County citizens cannot read above a 5th grade level. We can change that. In fact, to grow our community in the way we all want to, we MUST change that!!! Together, we can do that!
Event RoundupThe Marion County Literacy Council hosted its first ever Team Scrabble event on Sept. 26. The event, presented by Bobby Genovese, was a great success. Each team, filled with 8 members, were given twenty minutes to come up with the best scrabble board possible. The teams were able to buy the letters they needed to create high scoring words, pay to look at the Scrabble dictionary and Word Finder and of course there was always the option to bribe the judge.
A big thank you to all that made this event successful! Event chair and MCLC fundraising chair, Lisa Varner, said about the evening “It was a wonderful event, full of fun, competitiveness and lots of laughter. It was great to see so many people introduced to the Literacy Council and its programs in such a fun way.” Thank you to the following sponsors for helping make the event a true success: Tri-Eagle Sales, Tillman & Associates, Studio 45 Photography, Beautiful Moments Party Rental, and Jimmy and Kara Gooding.
Thank you our Table Sponsors: BG Capital, Silver Springs State Park, Cowboys Saloon, Ocala Horse Properties, Lemieux Diamond Company, Jumbolair, Time Customer Service, Barbara Woodson, Mike Ethridge Construction, Ocala Star Banner and Best Version Media.
Check out all the cool photos, courtesy of Studio 45 Photography from the event on our Facebook page: Team Scrabble Photos
The Marion County Literacy Council is currently recruiting Team Members to help plan the Inaugural TEAM Scrabble event in September 2014
and the 6th Annual Kiss the Horse for Literacy in November 2014. We are looking for people who enjoy planning FUN events; recruiting volunteers,
soliciting for in-kind donations for silent auctions, selling tickets, planning menus, recruiting vendors to sell their items, etc. We meet as needed and
try to keep to 1 hour per meeting. If either or both of these events interests you, please call Karen at 352-690-7323 X 204. THANKS!
The Kiss the Horse event asked contestants to come up with fundraiser for the Marion Literacy Council, with the contestant who raised the most earning the right to Kiss the Horse. Last year’s winner is shown here claiming his prize.See More pictures
February 28th 2013. More images.
We have moved into our new location at 120 SW 5th Street. The new 6000 square foot features a computer lab, library and training room and ten study rooms.
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