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| Auction Alert: Win a virtual Zoom conversation with David Baldacci!
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🎉 This year’s auction is ONLINE and open to EVERYONE—no ticket required!
🗓️ Bidding is open now and will close at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 29.
👉 Click here to register and start bidding today.
💡 Need help with registration? 📖 Call Linda at (828) 254-3442, ext. 206, for assistance, or check out this helpful guide.
💯 All proceeds benefit Literacy Together, helping create brighter futures through the power of literacy.
👏 Special thanks to David Baldacci for this incredible and generous gift! ❤️
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Finally, we are thrilled to announce a $25,000 Matching Gift Challenge, allowing you to double your impact! 🎁 🙏🏼
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Don't want to miss out on the fun? Ticket sales end on Thursday - but we are likely to sell out before then, so buy your ticket while you can!
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Would you like to help us make sure we continue to receive federal funding for our adult education programs, which serve over 300 students every year? The proposed federal budget includes the elimination of adult education programming, and here's how you can help:
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1. The first step is to ask our Congress members to sign the bipartisan Dear Colleague letters circulating in both the House and the Senate, showing support for adult education. According to the Coalition on Adult Basic Education, this deadline is 5/22!
2. Call your legislators using the sample script provided here. You can also email them: Message House | Message Senate.
3. Share with other people who care about adult education.
Thanks!
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Corporate Partner Spotlight: Aeroflow Health
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We're delighted to spotlight one of our Platinum Corporate Sponsors this month: Aeroflow Health! We had the pleasure of speaking with Joy Payne, Sr. Corporate Marketing & Content Specialist, about why Aeroflow Health chose to support Literacy Together:
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What does literacy mean to you or your team at Aeroflow Health, and why is it something you care about?
Aeroflow Health recognizes the critical importance of health literacy, particularly within our industry. We believe that everyone deserves the ability to confidently navigate their health decisions. To achieve this, prioritizing literacy—the ability to read, write, listen, and speak with the necessary skill and confidence—is essential. Aeroflow is dedicated to empowering health literacy by simplifying complex information and providing accessible resources, ensuring that all individuals can make informed choices about their health.
How do you think improving literacy can change someone's life? Feel free to share a story here - either about yourself or someone you know.
At Aeroflow Health, many of our team members have the privilege of guiding patients through the often complex world of health insurance. We empower them through coaching, education, and health literacy support, which fosters a heightened sense of dignity, knowledge, and understanding in making informed decisions about their health. Here's a patient story from Liyah Foye, an Aeroflow employee, that speaks to this directly:
I had a female patient who was having difficulty understanding and advocating for herself regarding getting coverage for her incontinence supplies. She was middle-aged and felt stigmatized because she felt too young to be experiencing these issues and was embarrassed by them. She was in an area where healthcare education wasn't widespread, and there's also a generational/cultural difference between her generation and mine. Many middle-aged adults don't talk about these issues, especially women, as historically speaking, women's healthcare has been neglected on a systemic level. I explained to her that she had nothing to be embarrassed about and that many women across this country and the world experience these issues. I shared that, being almost 26 years old, many of my peers who have already given birth or had reproductive surgeries such as hysterectomies have faced this. We're human; these things happen, and it's not embarrassing to seek out resources that will provide you with quality care to have the life you deserve. I also gave her a couple of resource tips and guides to be able to advocate for herself in the healthcare sphere, including with her insurance company and providers. Patients have every right to ask as many questions as they want and need to. Health is true wealth, and everyone should have access to the education they need to advocate for themselves. Our jobs are important in that we add humanity to these conversations and make these materials approachable, accessible, and engaging to our patients/customers.
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Another fun spelling bee!
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The Whale has chosen Literacy Together (again!) as their nonprofit for May. They've been encouraging round-up donations at their three locations for us throughout the month and organized a spelling bee this week to highlight our work! Thank you to everyone who attended and donated! We SO appreciate The Whale's partnership.🐳😍
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| Thank you, Stitches of Love!
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Next time you’re visiting the office, pick up a new bookmark! These were created by our friends at Stitches of Love. Thank you for supporting our mission to transform lives and communities through the power of literacy. Happy reading! 🧵 ❤️ 📚
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We received this personal, heartfelt letter from Bethany that moved us to tears
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I wanted to share a very personal story on how Dolly’s books have affected our family.
Our beautiful daughter, Macie, was placed in foster care when she was 2 years old. The horrific and sad situation she was pulled from is her story to tell one day, but when a DCS caseworker was packing her bag, she slipped two books in. Both were addressed to her from the Imagination Library.
Her first foster placement was with a loving and incredible family. They updated her info, and once again, she began to receive books. Same name, new address. When she was almost 3, she was transferred to our home, and we began the long and painful process of adoption. Her previous foster home continued to receive her books and brought them to her whenever we visited.
On Dec 3, 2016, we adopted our girl, changed her name, and she became ours forever. One of the very first things we did was update her info.
Her forever name.
Here’s the thing: her Imagination Library books are her only bit of history. Parts of her hold on that, at some point, poor choices were being made around her, but someone cared enough to sign her up for books. Someone cared enough to pack up the books. She has tucked away her heritage, original name, and address in a precious book.
You gave that to her, and we are forever thankful.
Blessings,
Bethany S.
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Please help us spread the word about our need for volunteers!
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Our ESOL Program has a waiting list of over 70 people, some of whom have been waiting months for a tutor! We host two monthly orientation meetings, and everyone is welcome to join us, from prospective volunteer tutors to community members to local business owners and nonprofits wanting to learn more about Literacy Together's work.
This month, we welcomed participants from California, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Buncombe County! This is what one participant said after the meeting:
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The race-based achievement gap for elementary children was surprising!
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| Upcoming Online Orientation Meetings
Tuesday, June 10th, 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Thursday, June 12th, 10:00 am - 11:00 am
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| Show your love for Literacy Together to the world!
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| Your generosity provides literacy services to our neighbors of every age.
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