Gage Park Juniors Set Personal Goals
Back in December, the juniors who participated in the
ReadThenWrite
program at Gage Park High School visited Open Books to celebrate their hard work. Over the semester, Open Books staff and volunteer coaches traveled to Gage Park twice each week to demystify the college essay (see our post about writing engaging personal essays) and help the students think seriously about their futures.
Before we parted ways, each Gage Park student set a goal that she or he wishes to accomplish. Some are funny, some are practical, all are touching. Take a look at their noble aspirations!
- I will graduate high school and go to college.
- I will direct four films.
- I will write my feelings more and start reading more than usual.
- I will never give up making dreams happen.
- I will be a good example for my loved ones.
- I will run three miles in under 19.5 minutes.
- I will get into college to make my mom proud of me, and most importantly, I will become a positive person.
- I will get all of the scholarships I may need...or at least work my butt off to accomplish this.
- I will graduate and still stay in touch with Open Books!
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Open Books Launches One-day Writing Workshops for Teens!
The sessions are independently designed and do not require prior attendance to participate, so families may sign their young authors up for all, a few, or just one of the Wordshops.
Our first session is Monday, January 20th.
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ReadThenWrite Doubles in Size:
We Need More Volunteers!
 We're thrilled that ReadThenWrite, our reading, writing and publishing program for teens, will more than double in size this semester - we're slated to serve more than 120 students through this program alone! But that also means we need more volunteers to coach our young authors. If you're curious about what the Read ThenWrite volunteer experience is like, check out our Volunteer Voice section at the end of this feature and see below to learn about how you can earn free books by spreading the word about being a Read ThenWrite volunteer.
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Earn Free Books by Referring
ReadThenWrite Volunteers
With Read ThenWrite hitting 7 different schools this spring, we'll need a mighty team of volunteer coaches at our side. While not everyone has the availability to to participate in Read ThenWrite (Do you? Check theschedule and join us if so!), many of you may know someone else who might, and we want to meet them!
Do you know someone with daytime availability during the week who enjoys working with teens? When you successfully refer someone to participate in Read ThenWrite this semester, you will each earn a $15 gift card to the Open Books store!
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 Volunteer Voice: One of our splendid volunteers, Olga, who you may remember as last August's Vol-star, has been doing some writing about her experience at Open Books, and while we love to gush about our volunteers and the work they do, sometimes it's best to leave it to the volunteers themselves!
Curious what it's like to volunteer as a ReadThenWrite coach? Check out Olga's post, where she discusses everything from the Active Reading Strategies we use to the book we worked with to the bonds she formed with her "Girls Club."
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Open Book Club Reads The Black Count
Mark your calendars with a big star for February 11th, because the Open Book Club will be discussing one of Kevin's favorite books from the past year: The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss. The Black Count
is the biography of Alexandre Dumas the elder, father of the author of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. Dumas the elder, who was born to an enslaved mother in Haiti, moved to Paris and rose to command Revolutionary armies... for a time. Is it a spoiler to say that Dumas the younger based many of his books on his father's real (and almost unbelievable) life?
Discuss this amazing and uncovered history with us on
February 11th at 6 pm at the Open Books store. No RSVP or monthly commitment required.
Keep up to date with Open Book Club by joining us on our Goodreads or Meetup pages!
P.S. We'll see you on January 14th for Beautiful Ruins!
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 Book Banter: After reading Don Quixotefor the first time, Lizzy concludes that just because you know the plot of a classic book doesn't mean you don't have a good reason to read it. Here's what she has to say about the joy of reading classics. |
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Grants of High-Quality Books
Each month, our fabulous Book Department distributes thousands of high-quality books to classrooms around the city as part of our Book Worm Angels program. We're thrilled to offer reading materials and resources for students to enjoy in school and at home with their families!
In December 2013 alone, we granted nearly 10,000 books to dozens of classrooms in the following schools: Sawyer Elementary, Sherman School of Excellence, Brighton Park Elementary, Gage Park High School, John B. Drake Elementary, Armour Elementary, Youth Connections Charter Academy, and Carrol-Rosenwald School.
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| Here is a book grant being prepped for a delivery this month to Calmeca Academy... 8 boxes and counting! |
Do you know an educator or nonprofit that would benefit from a book grant? Share this link with them!
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January 10
1-2 pm
January 14
Beautiful Ruins
6 pm
January 17
1-2 pm
January 24
1-2 pm
January 29
1-2 pm
February 11
The Black Count
6 pm
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Have your child pick up a Kids' Card the next time you're at the Open Books store. Have the card punched on each visit and on the 5th visit, he or she can turn it in for a
FREE BOOK!
No purchase necessary. One punch per day. Does not expire. Completed cards may be redeemed for a kids' book valued at $10 or less.
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Have Books You Don't Need?
We Want Them!
We gladly accept all books in good condition from individuals, corporations,libraries, philanthropic groups, book sales, and anyone else who has them! We distribute some books through our programs and sell the rest in our store, warehouse, and online to support our literacy programs.
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Our Warehouse is Open to the Public!
905 W. 19th St.
Pilsen
Wednesday - Saturday
10 am - 4 pm
Browse thousands of books priced as low as $1 and a wide selection of leveled children's books priced at $3 each.
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One-Time Volunteer Opportunity:
Mock Interviews
We're capping off last semester's college-readiness ReadThenWrite program at Gage Park High School by providing our juniors a chance to practice their interview skills.
This is a great one-time opportunity for volunteers to visit with our students and help them learn how to best represent themselves, plus, we ask the students to dress up, which is quite the sight. :)
Details:
Gage Park High School
Wednesday, January 29
11:15am - 12:15pm AND 12:15-1:15pm
(pick one or both!)
Interested in joining us for one or both periods of mock interviews? Email Ava to sign up!
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January Vol-Star Meet Jessica Mitolo
We are pleased to start our 2014 Vol-Star list out strong by introducing you to Jessica Mitolo. Jessica spent last semester as a phenomenal ReadThenWritecoach at Gage Park High School, and we are thrilled that she'll be back for another round next month.
Read on to learn about the extra amazing work Jessica did at Gage Park and the useful skills she picked up from the family business.
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Social Shares
@haleyloveison: "I have never been so excited to fill out an application. Interning with @OpenBooks this summer is the dream."
@ChicagoCommuter: Gave a career presentation to terrific juniors at Gage Park HS for @openbooks. They're smart, college bound, & they laughed at my jokes! #success
@SomeKindofSara: "I went to volunteer orientation at @OpenBooks today. I'm psyched. Also, writing with my left hand is hard!
@Shua123: "Went on a Studs Terkel book buying binge at the @openbookstore sale.
@Jacquamuffin: "Headed
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