BOOK ANGELS

This past week, my school was the lucky recipient of almost 80 books!! One of our teachers told me about a program called Book Angels. It is a program that is run by Anderson's Bookshop in Downers Grove, which just happens to be my childhood bookstore. They partner up with a teacher's professional sorority and hang needy children's names on a tree on little paper angels. Then members of this organization and patrons of the bookstore, pick a name and buy a hardcover book for that child. Every book was then wrapped and labeled with their angel by the head of the children's section, Kathleen March. All I had to do was write a letter and submit my student's names. I got to pick up four huge bags of beautiful, wrapped, new hardcover books and pass them out to so many of our students. They were thrilled, truly! I had fun being the book lady-- I said it was a raffle-- so that no one would know why they were picked-- but really it was the children who we felt might not have books at home to read.

What a great program, a great bookstore and a great booklady in Kathleen!! The book above was one of my favorites as a preteen and purchased at Anderson's on my bike in probably 1987!!!

African Reading Challenge Part III

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I read this novel for my social justice bookclub run by Amnesty International. We meet at the Book Cellar in Lincoln Square to discuss issues around social justice and global issues.
This book is based loosely on political events in nineteen-sixties Nigeria, and focuses on two wealthy Igbo sisters, Olanna and Kainene. The sisters each fall in love with very different men and the story follows them and other characters who come into their lives. The book does a great job of showing different socioeconomic cultures and how war affects them differently. She is a good author and creates vivid characters. It is a disturbing book and made our group really look at how there are so many conflicts that we know so little about. Interestingly enough, one of the book club members had gone to Nigeria around that time to visit her boyfriend in the Peace Corp and couldn't believe how little she knew about this conflict and how it affected the Nigerian people.


“A gorgeous, pitiless account of love, violence and betrayal during the Biafran war.”

—Time magazine (February 12, 2007)

African Reading Challenge Part II

Angelina Jolie; Notes from my Travels- Visits with Refugees in Africa, Cambodia, Pakistan and Ecuador





Now, I never thought I would have read anything by Angelina, not a huge fan of her movies or her tabloids, but my sister sent me this book when I told her I was traveling to Ethiopia next summer. Well all I can say is that after reading it, I like her and I plan to bring a travel journal with me next summer. These are her memoirs from her journeys to Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Pakistan, Cambodia and Ecuador. She simply writes about what she sees and how she feels. It is a very fast read and very simple but certainly makes you wonder why more people don't try to experience developing countries. Especially people with lots of money. :)

"Angelina is living proof of the power we all have-- every one of us-- to make a difference. I was deeply moved by her descriptions of individual refugees struggling to live with dignity and hope, and found her personal commitment to be an inspiration. Angelina's journals document her awakening as a humanitarian activist and I hope they will move readers to act. I look forward to my continued work with Angelina on behalf of the United Nations." - Jane Goodall, Ph.D. CBE Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace

African Reading Challenge Part I

28 STORIES OF AIDS IN AFRICA BY STEPHANIE NOLEN





Quite awhile ago, my friend Sarah encouraged us all to choose six books written about Africa or by African authors, read them and write a review of them. So, I am finally writing my reviews, one at a time...

The first book is 28 Stories of AIDS in Africa by Stephanie Nolan. This is a good book to learn about the AIDS crisis as Stephanie takes 28 people affected by the virus and writes a short story about their lives and experiences. She writes about orphans raising younger siblings, wives who were exiled after their virus was discovered despite the fact that they contracted the virus from their husbands, to cross country truckers who frequent prostitutes. She writes a story for each of the million people afflicted by AIDS in Africa. Very powerful and very enlightening.

"If a war had killed 20 million soldiers, and left 28 million more dying of wounds, we'd call it the worst such tragedy since World War II. This is the scale of AIDS in Africa. Stephanie Nolen brings this story to life in a moving, deeply human way. Through these portraits—shrewdly chosen, varied, and sometimes startlingly unexpected—she artfully puts a series of human faces on the greatest health crisis of our time."
- Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold's Ghost and Bury the Chains

Community Outreach Part 2

A huge thank you to all who participated in our school's adopt a family community outreach program!! We collected warm clothes, school supplies, toys and gift cards for 108 children. Monday, I collected at NNM and was amazed by some of the donations. Then Tuesday was pickup at my school... followed by some last minute deliveries Friday. Was super relieved to be finished but so happy to be able to help out so many families. They were all very appreciative and our NNM families and friends were so generous!!! THANK YOU TO CLAIRE AND SARAH FOR BEING PARTNERS IN THIS GREAT PROGRAM!!!!

COOKIE BAKING!!!

Today, I met a couple of my friends for our annual cookie baking session. We each pick two kinds of cookies, prepare the dough ahead of time and come prepared to bake enough for 3 households. This year, we made candy canes, thumbprints, peanut butter/Hersey kiss, butter tea cookies, armenian wedding cookies and an interesting chocolate cookie with a carmel inside and heath pieces on top-- probably a million calories in that one!

I came home with 4 containers full of Christmas cookies and no need to bake again this holiday season!!! Thanks ladies.

ADOPT A FAMILY

For the past three years, my school has been lucky enough to partner up with a wonderful school in the city to do an Adopt A Family program. With the help of my teachers, I choose families who could use some extra assistance at the holidays and match them up with a family at NNM-- an amazing Montessori school with very generous members. Then we collect the donations and my school's families pick them up and get to wrap the gifts for their children. It is such a fun program and I truly feel like Santa the day we pass out gifts. This year, we are hoping to provide gifts, warm clothes and support to over a 100 children.

WORLD AIDS DAY 2008

MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2008 is WORLD AIDS DAY. I just got my winter update letter from AHOPE and I thought I'd share one of the stories.
Seble is a six year old girl who lives with her grandmother in a very impoverished neighborhood in Addis Ababa. Her father was a soldier who abandoned his family before Seble was born and his present whereabouts are unknown. Seble's mother died of an illness, probably AIDS when Seble was two years old. Seble's grandmother struggled to provide for Seble working as a day laborer with occasional help from other relatives that did similar work. Seble had many health problems, including TB, and was diagnosed as HIV+ when she was five years old. Her grandmother loves her orphaned granddaughter, but she needed help to give Seble the care necessary for a person living with HIV. Seble enrolled at the AHOPE Ethiopia Child Development and Community Outreach Center on September 17, 2008. Since then, Seble and her grandmother have received all the services necessary to keep Seble healthy and to allow her to remain in her grandmother's care. Seble is receiving medications, nutritional support and education. Her grandmother, who has suffered so many loses in her life, is receiving psychosocial support and education in nutrition and HIV issues that will give her confidence and skills to provide a better life for herself and her beloved granddaughter. Seble is now thriving. She participates with enthusiasm in the activities at the Center, enjoys playing with the other children, and returns every evening to the loving arms of her grandmother.

This is just one of the programs that I will be able to help with while in Ethiopia this summer. I am hosting a breakfast at school tomorrow for World AIDS day-- pumpkin, banana, zucchini bread and Ethiopian coffee-- What can you do to help spread the message tomorrow??

What are you thankful for?

Hi Friends,

Today, on our American Thanksgiving(as opposed to my mom's Canadian Thanksgiving last month),what are you thankful for?
I'm thankful for:
My family and friends,copious amounts of coffee and wine at dinner
a five day weekend,the ability to travel -- especially my upcoming trip to Addis Ababa, all the books I have sitting in my bedroom begging to be read
and the fact that I live in a place where as a single woman, I can vote, speak up,own my own home, have the job I want and am able to support myself. It is amazing that if I were born in many other places, I would not be able to do these things as a woman and that makes me sad.
Have a very happy Thanksgiving!!!!

I wanted to say a great big thank you to two recent supporters.

My friend Joe Farace-- you rock!!!

Jane and Alan Hoffman
a little background here-- Mr. Hoffman is my high school biology teacher and sponsor of the Downers Grove North Outdoor Environmental Club. He is personally responsible for getting me in a canoe, in a tent and on a raft. He took us to meet congress people in Washington D.C. and through the woods in Arkansas. I cannot say enough times, what an amazing teacher and friend, Mr. Hoffman was and is to so many of us, his former students. And having met his wife-- I imagine her students feel the same way about her. I hope you and the horses are doing well-- thanks for your continued support!!!!

Barefoot Books and my kids at school!

Last Thursday, my friend Claire and I hosted a Barefoot Books party. If you've never seen the books, they are super cute, full of multi-cultural and diverse children and teach about all kinds of places. They are reasonable and well-made. I think everyone had a good time and it was great to see many of my friends who I don't get to see enough.

I got some new books on Africa as well as a wonderful CD-- called Putumayo Kids Presents African Playground. I love it!!! It is full of songs from Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia and the Congo amongst other countries in Africa. I played it in one of my third grade classes while we worked on our diversity activity packets. The kids loved the music and I found it so happy and uplifting.

DONATE A DOLL!!!

As the holidays rapidly approach, I am offering a way to donate to my trip, the children at AHOPE and come up with a holiday gift for the person who has everything. For $30 dollars, I will purchase a doll for a child at AHOPE, provide your friend or family member with a certificate announcing the gift and send them a photo of the children with their dolls in August!!! If you are interested, please contact me. Happy early holiday shopping/planning.

VOTING DONE!!!!

At 6:02, I left my house, walked across the street and got in line at the Priory. There were more people then ever at my polling place which houses three precincts. Thankfully, my precinct is the red headed step child of River Forest, so my line was pretty short. I voted, got my sticker and walked home in a total of 35 minutes. I hope you have all voted today. My principal even told us that if any of us were still stuck in line when it was time for conferences to not get out of line, but to stay and vote. Well, nothing else I can do, I have made campaign phone calls, knocked door to door, donated money and voted-- must get ready to go to Parent/Teacher conferences and just wait until the polls close this evening!
GO OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!

GET OUT THE VOTE!

Today, I went to Indiana. My friend Silvia and I went to the Michigan City, Indiana- Obama for America office and got our list of voters. We went door to door in a small, lower economic neighborhood, knocking on doors to see which homes had voted. If they had not done early voting, we asked them if they were voting on Tuesday, if they needed a ride and if they knew where their polling place was. Almost everyone was friendly and a bit amused by us. It felt good to do something other than simply watch MSNBC.

Postcard Project

Recently, a couple spent two months at AHOPE. They are now in the process of adopting a child from AHOPE. They worked with many of the children at the older campus and told us that the children loved learning about exotic places. They are requesting postcards from all around the world.

So what I am asking is that if each time you go somewhere or even from your own hometown, buy a postcard, write a couple of facts about the place on the back and send them to me. When I get a whole bunch, I will send them to this couple to take them to AHOPE and then I can take the rest personally when I go in June.

This is a great way for the kids to learn about the world while practicing their English and an easy way for us to help out!

Send postcards to:
Tiffany Jones
7213 W. Division, #1
River Forest, IL 60305

Just wanted to give a shout out to some recent donors.

Aunty Barbara and Uncle Bob
Darrell and Elaine Houmes
Ron Jones

and most creative: Silvia and Pat Shannon- I dog sat Gracie, and they donated what doggie daycare in OP would have cost! Thank you all for your support!

Fun Facts

Okay, so this is strange as I am new to blogging, but apparently once you've been tagged, you need to write 7 random things about yourself... that certainly is not a problem for me--- though Sarah dear, I know very few others who have blogs.

1. This love of the election started before I could vote. I did voter registration in my high school cafeteria, while I was campaigning for my friend's mom, who was running for some local office. She was going to save Lyman Woods from becoming a helicopter pad-- but alas I think the fact that she used to keep chickens in her backyard might have been the reason she lost.

2. I didn't eat cake on my birthday! Heck I didn't eat cake at all. I was the only 5 year old who had birthday pies. Birthday pies do not go over well with the rest of the five year old population.

3. I will stop whatever I am doing and watch the Anne of Green Gables movies on PBS. Yes there are several of them. Yes, I believe they were filmed in Canada, and are not terribly well made. But I loved the books and still get sucked into them whenever I see them. They are usually on during their fundraising telethon.

4. I spent a week canoeing in Arkansas. It was very "Deliverance" which we incidentally thought was a good idea to watch right before going. It was cold, and rainy, but my canoe never tipped.

5. I hate roses! Love most flowers-- especially daisies, lilacs and violets but I have this unnatural hate for roses.

6. I love Bon Jovi, I know that is an embarrassing thing to say, but I think I've seen him 5 times.

7. I am obsessed with Gale Gand. I know most of you are like who is that? She is a pastry chef and co-owner of Tru in Chicago. She is amazing!! I have all her cook books and I've met her-- she's funny and thinks you should eat what you make!

Andrea
Marianne
Nikki

Sorry I think that's as many as I know. And I'm not sure that I can now link you to their sites, but I shall try.

Hot, Flat, and Crowded

Okay, another book to put out there. Hot, Flat and Crowded-Why we need a Green Revolution and how it can renew America, by Thomas L. Friedman.
This was suggested by Claire on her blog- www.peepslovingbooks.blogspot.com and my friend Stephanie started it and insisted that I read it-- just started but needless to say, I believe it may become another obsession for me. Which might be healthy as I am becoming more and more wrapped in the election, as each day passes. I have CNN or MSNBC on pretty much from early morning to late night.. with NPR in my car.

Fundraising Ideas

My focus this upcoming year is to fund raise for my trip. It is pretty expensive to travel to Africa and I am responsible for my expenses as well as any additional supplies I bring to AHOPE or field trips while I am there.

Can you make suggestions for fundraising? Think of fundraisers that you have thrown or attended that were successful. Let me know your thoughts.

There Is No Me Without You

There Is No Me Without You by

Melissa Fay Greene

This is an amazing book that tells the story of Mrs. Haregewoin Teferra, an Ethiopian widow who opens her house to hundreds of AIDS orphans. It is a must read. Please read this book and comment.

Seriously this is an phenomenal book. I truly feel that you cannot read it and not feel that you need to do something to help! I would love to hear what you think.

TAKE ACTION FRIENDS!

I have never done a blog before or any kind of online journal. Though I admit to being addicted to several of my friends' blogs. After a lot of thought, much research and a several month application period, I am planning to spend next summer in Ethiopia. I will be volunteering at AHOPE Ethiopia- information about AHOPE is in the panel on the right of your screen. Huge thanks to my friend Claire for helping me set up this blog and to my friend Sarah for introducing me to AHOPE.

Why am I going?

That is a question that has been asked of me quite a bit since I made this announcement to my friends and family. I talk alot about making a difference and making the change you want to see when I am with my students. I am an elementary school social worker and I want them to do their part in making our world a better place, even if it is one peace loving 3rd grade classroom at a time. I've done a lot of reading about the global AIDS crisis as well as the role or lack thereof of the USA.

I believe in taking action-- and while I do not have the power to make our government change(although I certainly believe in supporting good candidates and voting!! GET OUT AND VOTE NOVEMBER 4th!) or have the finances of Oprah to build schools-- I wanted to find out what I could do. So I researched, cause I research and after a lot of soul searching for lack of a better word- I decided since I still have my summers off... I could spend a summer helping out at AHOPE. And that is how I look at it, I don't expect to change the world but I can do my small part in helping.

While of course I hope you will follow my journey and help me make it as successful as we can-- my wish for you all is to TAKE ACTION- vote, volunteer, help your neighbor, explain global warming, recycle, use resusable grocery bags, give to your favorite charity (or mine!!!)