Grace Year, an Intentional Community (Aired on March 2 and 3, 2019)

Abby Nathanson revisits RadioRotary to talk about the new Grace Year
program that allows recent college graduates to spend a year of intentional living,
focusing on spirituality, religion, and justice. Ms. Nathanson previously was
interviewed on RadioRotary about another program that she has instituted, EPIC
(Engaging People in Change), which provides leadership training for high-school
students in northeastern Dutchess Country. Both programs are run from a base
in Grace Episcopal Church in Millbrook, NY, although they are
nondenominational, not especially Episcopalian. Grace Year is a year-long
opportunity to live in a small community of young adults as they prepare for
lifelong journeys of sustained leadership for the common good. Each of the five
fellows, who are fully funded by local nonprofits and donations, spends 32 hours
each week working with local organizations and also develops an independent
project. During the year, the fellows live together along with Ms. Nathanson in the
Grace Church vicarage. Applicants for the 2018-2020 year can apply at
hello@graceyear.org or by phoning Ms. Nathanson at 845-420-4280.

Learn more:
Grace Year: https://www.graceyear.org/
Grace Year Program (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/graceyearprogram/
EPIC Justice (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/epicjustice/
Grace Episcopal Church in Millbrook: https://www.gracemillbrook.org/

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March 6, 2019 · Posted in Humanitarian Service, New Generations, Quality of Life, Youth  

Literary Connections for Non-Readers (Aired on February 23 and 24, 2019)

RadioRotary’s co-host Jonah Triebwasser interviews three members of the staff
of Literacy Connections of the Hudson Valley: Debra Paskowski, Katherine
Stikkers, and Marian Thompson. A surprising number of adults are unable to
read English, either because they did not learn to read as a child or perhaps they
grew up speaking a language other then English. Literacy Connections helps
resolve reading problems in various ways. The Book Buddy program, which
brings adult readers into elementary schools where they read along with children
or have children read to them, gets children on the path to reading success. For
most children, the transition from first-grade struggling to third-grade proficiency
is the key to lifelong reading success. Other volunteers and staff members work
with adult nonreaders or with those for whom English is not their first language.
For the past 18 years, the largest fundraiser for Literacy Connections has been
the annual Spelling Bee for high-school students and adult teams. Various
organizations, such a Rotary, pay to sponsor a team. The Spelling Bee is one of
the major annual events in the mid-Hudson valley, fun for both participants and
the audience.

Learn more:
Literary Connections of the Hudson Valley: http://www.literacyconnections.org/
Book Buddies: https://www.childtrends.org/programs/book-buddies https://www.childtrends.org/programs/book-buddies
Dyslexia (inability to learn to read: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dyslexia/symptoms-causes/syc-20353552
Teaching English as a Second Language: https://teach.com/become/what-can-i-teach/tesol/

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March 6, 2019 · Posted in Children, Education, Events, Literacy