Rotary Club of Marana
                                                                            
What a start to November it was. We had our MCAT Student of the Month in attendance. Rotarian Marie Andree Zachrisson visited us from Nueva Guatemala Rotary Club. Plus, guest speaker Susan Friese shared with us the amazing work Literacy Connects.
The MCAT Student of the Month was Alexis Falcon, who was joined by her mother Irasema Teran and family guest Cody Hudson. Student Support Coach Laura Garcia attended as well as Principal Denise Coronado. Ms. Coronado explained that Alexis had a really hard time in middle school and got distracted socially. It was Mr. Todd, her math teacher who realized that Alexis needed specialized support in math. Once that was in place, Alexis began to thrive. “I also saw that I couldn’t do anything without my diploma,” Alexis said. She’s on track to graduate in December. She’s “deeply grateful” for her mother’s tough love and thanked the Club for selecting her Student of the Month. Alexis plans to pursue the culinary arts after graduation.
 
From Literacy Connects, community outreach coordinator Susan Friese explained some of the life-changing programs of the Tucson non-profit, which works for social justice through reading literary and creative expression.
 
The “Reading Seed” Program, in its 25th year, focuses on creating lifelong learners. Over 1,600 students have been served. Sessions allow for one-on-one work with a reading tutor and a free book after each session. Why is early childhood reading so important? “Because it from kindergarten to third grade that children learn to read, and from fourth grade, they are reading to learn,” Friese explained.
 
Literary Connects outreach includes:
  • Training pediatricians to share with parents the importance of reading,
  • Training volunteers to be reading tutors who help children learn to read by making it fun,
  • Helping youngsters turn their stories into mini-plays performed by a troupe of artists, and
  • Teaching English to immigrants and refugees and adult literacy.
Literary Connects has an annual budget of $1.9 million, and relies on about $1.2 million worth of volunteer time. More than 110,000 books have been donated through Literacy Connects. Literacy Connects is a qualifying charitable organization for the Arizona tax credit.
 
We offered up Happy Bucks for our guests Alexis, Susan and Marie, near perfect attendance, and sunrises.
 
Lynne’s joke struck a familiar chord for many of us: “I would do my math homework but I’ve got my own problems.”
 
The club's Rotary Foundation Director Mary Strauss also presented the first of a three-part informational series about The Rotary Foundation. The Rotary Foundation, with a $1.2 billion endowment, funds district grants, global grants, Rotary peace scholars, and polio eradication efforts.
 
Guest Marie Andree Zachrisson from Nueva Guatemala Rotary Club.