Adult Literacy Hero
Noemi Viveros
Noemi Viveros understands the challenges of moving to a new country and learning a new language. She worked diligently to perfect her own English-language skills and soon was applying her bilingual talents to helping others. She helped organize an open house for the Spanish-speaking community at the West Chester Public Library, where she led “Mommy and Me” sessions. She has volunteered as a medical interpreter for the St. Agnes Nurses’ Center, as a board member for the Volunteer English Program, and as a teacher of reading for local Spanish speakers. Adult Hero Noemi Viveros has transformed her literacy in two languages into a gift she generously bestows upon hundreds of people in our community.
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Community Impact Hero Winner
FLITE
For children without adequate financial, emotional, or environmental support, success in school can be an unreachable goal. Thanks to FLITE, however, students, families and educators are leveling the playing field in the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District. An all-volunteer community nonprofit organization, FLITE—Foundation for Learning in Tredyffrin/Easttown—supports children in reaching their potential. FLITE provides preschool tuition scholarships for children whose families cannot afford preschool charges yet need a leg up before entering school. Students on the other end of their public-school careers benefit from FLITE-supported college application workshops and tutorials that prepare them for college entrance exams. For its impact on community education and success, FLITE is a 2011 Literacy Hero.
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Corporate Good Neighbor Literacy Hero
NouSoma Communications, Inc.
Growing up, Ellen Langas knew that women were making their mark in a variety of careers but had no role models to show her how to get started. She credits “a special teacher” with encouraging her to explore what she wanted to do and what preparation she’d need, and figure out how to make it happen. Thus was born NouSoma’s offshoot, Girls Know How® books, a series for readers 8 to 12. Each book features a girl presented with a challenge who is encouraged by an accomplished woman at the pinnacle of her career, a character based on a real-life successful woman. Langas also conducts “Career Adventure Workshops” at schools, libraries, book stores, and Girl Scout meetings, and the company has donated more than 4,000 books to service organizations helping children. For using reading to help girls plot their paths to successful futures, NouSoma Communications is this year’s Corporate Good Neighbor Hero.
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Education Literacy Hero
Jane Schultz
For the 43 years since her graduation from college, the educator has been devising literary activities to help even the most reluctant child plunge into the world of reading. Perhaps most notably, Jane helped her school establish the Brandywine Wallace Publishing Center to showcase children’s writing and to enhance their joy of reading. Each year for the past two decades, the center has transformed Brandywine Wallace students’ manuscripts into beautifully designed and bound books—and so transformed young writers into published authors. One copy of each book, complete with catalogue number and copyright symbol, goes home with its author; another stays at the library, available to be displayed proudly in the school lobby or to be read by other students.
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Innovation/Technology Literacy Hero
The Garage
Step into “The Garage” and you’ll see a dozen teens working at computers: conducting research on the Internet, filling out college or job applications, obtaining help with English compositions, and checking homework. The middle- and high-school students are laughing, chatting, engaging with peers and mentors—all the while learning computer literacy skills that will propel them toward self-sufficiency in a high-tech society. For its exemplary work in computer literacy skills, as well as its emphasis on education, literacy, and learning for a healthy life, The Garage Community and Youth Center is awarded the 2011 Literacy Hero award for Technology.
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Local Author Literacy Hero
Jeannine Ginsburg
Hundreds of amazing recipes can be found in Mommy’s Light in the Kitchen, a cookbook Ginsburg embarked on after being diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. Her original aim was simply to preserve her sons’ and husband’s favorite recipes so they’d always be able to re-create what she calls the “tastes, smells, and memories that evoke warmth and love.” But what began as one family’s collection blossomed and grew as her story inspired neighbors, friends, and friends of friends to share cherished formulas for traditional comfort foods and their families’ special dishes. Ginsburg and her book have appeared on Fox TV’s “Good Day” morning program, on the NBC “10!” show, in the “Books” column of People magazine, and in the Philadelphia Inquirer. To date, the book has sold more than 1,500 copies. For her inspiring endeavors and her legacy of help to children, Jeannine Ginsburg is a true hero.
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Uniformed Services Literacy Hero
Colonel Kerry Kachejian
A Henderson High School and West Point graduate, Kachejian was deployed to Iraq as Operations Officer for the Army Corps of Engineers’ new Gulf Region Division (GRD). Its charge: reconstructing such vital Iraqi infrastructure as power plants, water- and sewage-treatment plants, schools, and hospitals, even while hostilities raged. “We tried to improve educational opportunities for children by building hundreds of schools. However, we quickly learned that there were those who sought to retain power and influence by spreading fear and keeping people ignorant.” But the schools did get built. For his dedication to his country and to lifelong learning, Kerry Kachejian is a Literacy Hero.
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Youth Literacy Hero
Brittany Maupin
Brittany’s participation in reading to preschool and elementary-school children is only one of the ways she demonstrates her understanding of the role literacy and education play in lifetime success. Before beginning her freshman year at Henderson High School this past fall, Brittany created and led a program to teach Microsoft Office computer skills to clients of Chester County OIC. She designed the curriculum—which meets the requirements for Microsoft certification—from start to finish. She trained the trainers who carried out the program. And she taught classes herself. Brittany has recently agreed to serve as spokesperson for “Catch a Star Called Hope,” a campaign to raise funds for Chester County OIC programs including GED, Adult Workforce Literacy, and English as a Second Language classes. Her past accomplishments and her ongoing efforts to help others improve their circumstances through learning earn Brittany Maupin recognition as a Literacy Hero.
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