Welcome to the South Dakota Literacy Council Online!

Our goal is to help people receive educational help in a confidential setting. If you or someone you know is looking for a reading/math tutor—we will try to help you find a volunteer tutor. You can help. Become a member by contacting any officer or using the "Join SDLC" link.

NEWS ITEMS:

Trapper McClanahan, son of Alma McClanahan passed away July 3, 2010. We extend sympathy to Alma.

Please note the date change:

South Dakota Literacy Council Quarterly Meeting
Saturday, July 24, 2010 at the Pizza Ranch in Ft. Pierre, SD
Time: 11 CDT, 10 MDT
This proposed amendment will be voted upon at the meeting:

Prospective Amendment: SDLC Bylaws, Article 7, Section 1. Deletions are marked with a strike through the word. Insertions are underlined.
§ 7.0 ARTICLE VII: MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

§ 7.1 The Board of Directors shall meet at least quarterly, four (4) three (3) times a year, with one of the four three times being held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the membership. meetings shall be held in the spring, summer, and fall months of the year.

§ 7.2 Special meetings of the Board of Directors may be called by the President or upon written request to the President by not less than three (3) members of the Executive Board or by five (5) members of the Board of Directors.

§ 7.3 Meetings of the Board of Directors may be conducted by video conference or other interactive electronic means.

§ 7.4 A quorum shall consist of five (5) members of the Board of Directors.

RATIONALE:

1. This change would save money. It is less expensive to hold three meetings a year than it is to hold four meetings.

2. There are more hours of daylight in which to drive long distances to and from meetings during the warmer months of the year.

3. Section 9.2.1 authorizes the Executive Board to conduct SDLC business between meetings of the Board of Directors. The officers could meet via a teleconference in order to approve of bills and conduct other necessary business during the winter months.

4. The Bylaws include a provision to hold special meetings of the Board of Directors if necessary (see sections 7.2 and 7.3).

The South Dakota Literacy Council members are mourning the loss of our beloved fun-loving Treasurer, Norma Hamilton.

The Literacy Network has a new location at the Rushmore Mall. We are now located next to where Target used to be and we have lots more space. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped move, paint, set up, etc.!

We are in need of volunteers for Wednesdays and Thursdays starting at 4:15 p.m. (That’s when Elsie leaves.) If you can help, please call the hotline at 394-5454. If you can find a friend to share the shift…each of you work every other week…that would be wonderful too. As an added incentive we have hundreds of donated books to browse through. Thanks in advance for your help!

Paul Mohl, our current Tutor-Student Coordinator, will be retiring at the end of this year. We are looking for someone he can train as a replacement. The bylaws have the following job description: "The duties of the Tutor-Student Coordinator shall be to keep records on tutors and students and to match tutors with students. The Coordinator shall also match tutors with mentors."

This person also does the intake screening of the students, so an educational background would be helpful. Since this is a really big job, we've decided it could be shared by two people. Perhaps one could focus on the intakes and the other focus on the tutor-student matches.

The Tutor-Student Coordinator also helps with promotion for the March and October workshops. If this is a position for which you would like to volunteer or if you have any questions, please contact Paul Mohl at 923-5583.

We are in need of volunteers at the Literacy Network office at the Rushmore Mall. The work is very simply to be there to answer the phone and answer inquiries from Mall patrons. Training takes about an hour.

As you may know, Elsie Kephart has been spending 50 to 60 hours a week at the Literacy Network. She will be cutting back on the number of days she'll be there and will arrange her tutoring for those days. Even when Elsie's there, another person should be at the front desk. So we really need to get volunteers to help with coverage. The following shifts are available:

Monday
12 noon - 2 p.m.

Tuesday
10 a.m. - 12 noon 12 noon - 2 p.m. 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Wednesday
10 a.m. - 12 noon
12 noon - 2 p.m.
2 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Thursday
12 noon - 2 p.m.
2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Friday
10 a.m. - 12 noon
12 noon - 2 p.m.
2 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Saturday
10 a.m. - 12 noon
12 noon - 2 p.m.
2 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Please call 394-5454 to sign up for a shift.

We have published a book entitled “MEMORIES.” Nearly all of the articles, poems, and autobiographies are written by New Readers. We thank the South Dakota Council on Developmental Disabilities for the grant that made it possible for us to do this project. Through the grant we were able to hold a writing workshop with two South Dakota authors and to cover the expenses associated with the printing of the book. The cover of the book was drawn by one of the writers. See more information about the book on the “News” link.

My Desire to Learn by “Poncho”

The following is a song that I wrote after I joined the Literacy program. I wrote it to hopefully help reading adults understand the feelings and pain that someone like me goes through every day of my life because I do not know how to read and write. Hopefully, it also conveys the joy and hope I had as I started to learn to read.

It doesn’t make sense
This desire I feel.
Why I never could read
Yet, I know that I will.

Your words excite me.
I warm at the sounds.
Your nouns seem to invite me
To stay and learn awhile.

You’re on my mind and in my heart.
I’ve loved you so right from the start.
Though the words will keep us apart.

Is it just a fantasy?
Or do you feel the way I do?
I hardly know how to read.
But I know some day I will.

You’re on my mind and in my heart.
I’ve loved you so from the start.
Though the words will keep us apart.
Though the words will keep us apart.

I can only hope that this has helped someone understand what an illiterate person feels every day of his or her life and that if you know someone who can not read or write, PLEASE try to encourage him or her to get help through their local Literacy Council. Be aware that they will be afraid of anyone knowing that they can not read and write as they could be afraid of being rejected by all.

Published in South Dakota: A Journey Through Time Tutor Tips, Sarah D. Hillner, Ed. (Prairie View Press, 2002) Poncho has also set this poem to music.