We will reopen on Tuesday, April 10 at 8:30 AM. Thank you and have a great weekend!

Cape Fear Literacy Council and sponsor First Federal proudly announce the Third Annual Literacy Luncheon featuring Readers’ Theatre. This year’s Literacy Luncheon will take place on Friday, May 11, 2012 at 11:30 AM at the Pine Valley United Methodist Church located at 3788 Shipyard Boulevard.

The Literacy Luncheon will include a plated lunch, a silent auction, a performance by students from CFLC’s Readers’ Theatre program and the opportunity to learn more about The Cape Fear Literacy Council.

At this time, CFLC is seeking table hosts and sponsorships for the event. To host a table of eight guests with a $150 donation or learn more about sponsorship opportunities, please call 251-0911 or email info@cfliteracy.org by April 20, 2012. Proceeds from the luncheon will support The Cape Fear Literacy Council’s mission to provide individualized literacy services so that adults and their families in the Cape Fear Region can meet their goals and develop their potential. CFLC provides free and confidential 1-to-1 and small classroom instruction to adults working to improve their reading, writing, spelling, English communication, and math skills. CFLC also promotes family/children’s literacy by helping adults with literacy challenges increase their ability to be a positive influence on their children’s literacy skill-building and success and school.

Readers’ Theatre is a small class that builds Adult Basic Literacy and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students’ skills. This program is offered in a classroom setting to develop students’ ability, confidence, and reading pleasure through the four components of literacy: alphabetics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.

]]> http://www.cfliteracy.org/2012/03/3rd-annual-literacy-luncheon/feed/ 0 http://www.cfliteracy.org/2012/03/casablanca-gala-march-3-2012/ http://www.cfliteracy.org/2012/03/casablanca-gala-march-3-2012/#comments Sun, 18 Mar 2012 21:27:23 +0000 carolyn@wilmingtondesignco.com http://www.cfliteracy.org/?p=194 The Cape Fear Literacy Council thanks you for making the Casablanca Gala 2012 a success!

The event was held on Saturday, March 3 at 6:30 PM at the Hangar at Air Wilmington to a sold out crowd!

Guests enjoyed a fabulous evening of dinner, cocktails, a Moroccan bazaar silent auction, vocal auction, live music by Blivet, casino-like games with special guest Grenoldo Frazier opening the evening.

Casablanca Gala 2012

See more photos from:

Focus on the Coast, photos by Ariel Keener

StarNews Online

Casablanca- the movie- was all about second chances… and now here is yours. Whether you missed that one auction item you really wanted, or weren’t even lucky enough to attend, we’re going to give you another chance.

Five of our Vocal Auction donors have each generously offered up a second magnificent item…and we have a handful of Silent Auction items still available.

So, between now and noon Friday, March 9, you can buy at the price advertised below. We’ll accept offers on a first-come, first-served basis. All offers must be via email to tosullivan@cfliteracy.org or a phone call to CFLC at 251-0911.
Payment via VISA, MasterCard, or Discover cards only.

Our fabulous art collection

Vive La France! – A Week in Antibes
Whisk away to the sunny South of France in beautiful Antibes, located between Cannes and Nice. This very roomy apartment features three bedrooms and has a charming patio and grass backyard with a view of the Mediterranean. Amenities include washer, dryer, internet and two full baths.

The complex has a large pool and tennis courts. There is parking, but if you would like to be free of a car, the bus right outside the gate will take you to the train station, the beaches, downtown old Antibes, great pubs, the Picasso Museum or any town along the coast.

If you do go in May, take a ride to Cannes during the famous Cannes Film Festival (May 16-27). You never know who you may bump into!

Availability: Choose any week between March 4 – June 1, 2012

or during the month of September 2012

Price: $4,250

Lunch, Laugh, and Enjoy with Celia Rivenbark

All of Wilmington is proud to claim Celia as our very own resident, New York Times best-selling author. Year-in and year-out, she has been entertaining and enlightening audiences with her newspaper columns and books – beginning with Bless Your Heart, Tramp to You Don’t Sweat Much for a Fat Girl. Join this wickedly funny best-selling author and bring seven friends to Jester’s Cafe for a laugh-fest.

Your greatest challenge during this fun luncheon will be to stop laughing long enough to enjoy the scrumptious lunch! This items includes a signed copy of one of her books for each guests!

Price: $750

Dream Car Rental

Make your dreams a reality. Have you always wanted to drive a luxury sports car? Now is your chance. For one day (9 AM-5 PM) you can drive one of these three exotic luxury cars.

Ferrari 360 Modena
Aston Martin
Porsche

Driver must have a clean driving record, valid driver’s license, current insurance (with collision and deductible must meet standards for car value of $85,000 or have umbrella coverage).

Availability: Day rental is from 9 AM – 5 PM until April 3, 2012

Donated by: Momentum Dream Cars
Price: $700

Asheville: Any Way You Like It!

There’s nothing like a getaway to the mountains, and Asheville is the place to go! Culture, cuisine, history, music, arts, hiking, crafts, sports, architecture: you name it and Asheville has it. This package gives you and a guest one night and breakfast at the celebrated Grove Park Inn & Spa, tickets to an Asheville Symphony performance, and a gift certificate to Avenue M, a restaurant with delicious fare and a flare all its own. You can begin getting in the mood right away with two books that round out this package: “Finding Your Way in Asheville – 2011-12″ and “Baseball in Asheville.”

Price: $800

Fall Getaway: Oceanside Condo at Hilton Head

Treat yourself for a week in October to Sea Watch at Island Club in Hilton Head. You will enjoy this 2-bedroom 2-bath, first floor, 1200sf oceanside condo, which includes a fully-equipped kitchen, linens, washer/dryer, color cable TV with DVD player, phone, and a private patio.

The Island Club resort is a 24-acre oceanfront resort on Hilton Head Island with outstanding onsite amenities: three-tiered outdoor pool, two other pools, outdoor Jacuzzi, freshwater lagoon, nine tennis courts, outdoor racquetball court, health center with sauna, hot tub and exercise room. Picnic tables and barbeques are located throughout the resort. Perfect for families!

Hilton Head’s 12 miles of natural shoreline provides activities such as surf and deep-sea fishing, sailing and windsurfing. Six marinas in the area make boat/equipment rentals easily available. Golf opportunities galore!
Availability: October 20 – 27, 2012
Price: $700

LITERACY TUTOR TRAINING, from StarNews online http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20120228/ARTICLES/120229658

WILMINGTON | Cape Fear Literacy Council is offering free monthly orientation sessions. The sessions are from

Grenoldo Frazier, Wilmington native and renowned composer, actor and performer, will open the Cape Fear Literacy Council’s Casablanca Gala on Saturday, March 3. The fundraising event’s Casablanca theme will come alive as Frazier and his piano carry the crowd back to the 1940s in incomparable style.

The CFLC Casablanca Gala is the organization’s largest annual fundraiser, and is Saturday, March 3 at the Air Wilmington Hangar at ILM, beginning at 6:30 PM. In addition to Grenoldo Frazier’s opening performance, activities include a buffet dinner, open bar, coffee/dessert, vocal and silent auction, casino-like games, dancing to Blivet, and a photo booth.

“We are so excited to have Grenoldo as our special guest to open this year’s Gala,” said Linda Lytvinenko, CFLC Executive Director. “Having a performer of his caliber share his talents with us is just an incredible gift. Our guests will be getting an unbelievable treat to start their evening!”

Fraizer is known for his breadth and depth of musical and performing abilities. “He can play anything that’s ever been written, and his real ability is the fact that he creates true theater out of the simple elements of a man and a piano,” said Scott Simpson of WHQR in 2005. The Louisville, Kentucky paper, Leo Weekly, said, “He teases, pounds, seduces and cajoles his piano like a man in the midst of a religious conversion.” Other adjectives used to describe Frazier and his considerable talent include: “music phenomenon,” “outstanding,” “crazy good,” and “the real deal.”

Frazier’s career has been phenomenal, from Broadway to television to movies, across the US and in Europe. He arrived in New York City in 1972 as a pianist for touring shows, Journey Into Blackness?and Harlem Heyday, actor/musician featured on Broadway and national tours of Hello, Dolly!, and award-winning composers and musical director of Your Arms Are Too Short to Box With God. He was composer and musical director of the longest running gospel musical, Mama I Want to Sing, one of Time magazine’s 10 best musicals of 1984. He has played Duke Ellington, Otis Redding and the voice of a Sesame Street Muppet. He toured Europe as a singer/dancer and was pianist/singer at Windowns-on-the-World. He has been artist-in-residence at NC State University, Harvard Divinity School, and Penn State/Harrisburg.

“Grenoldo Frazier is a superb example of how the community has gotten involved with our Gala fundraiser, “said Rachel LaCoe, CFLC Community Outreach Coordinator. “Alan Perry of Perry’s Emporium is our auctioneer, and Craig & Sheila from Sunny 104.5 FM are our emcees. We’ve received support from L&L Party & Tent Rental, PPD, Delaney Radiology, Clancy & Theys, Harris Teeter, The Edge Createive, the Oleander Company, Costco, WWAY TV 3, WHQR 91.3, KidsVille Magazine/Livin’ Out Loud, Wilmington Business Journal, Wilma, United Way/StarNews Media, Port City Java, Fairway Outdoor Advertising, FilmWerks, Gypsy Grips, Land Rover and Air Wilmington.”

Casablanca Gala tickets are $100 or $175 for a pair; reserved tables of 8 are $700. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Visit the event website or call 251-0911 for information or tickets.

In conjunction with the MLK Day of Service, CFLC is hosting a Community Yard Sale fundraiser. The sale will take place Saturday January 14, 2012 from 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM at the Cape Fear Literacy Council behind the “bright blue building” at 1012 S. 17th Street.

Sunny 104.5 will be broadcasting live! ?The Wilmington Food Truck Association, Ms. Cheesy, Unami, Catch, and Sweet Bliss will be onsite during the yard sale to sell their delicious food! In addition, Affirmations Massage Wellness will offer chair massages.

There are many ways you can help with this fundraiser in addition to shoping at our sale:

Volunteer: Invest your time for literacy!

* Friday, January 13, 2012: Volunteers needed to help organize and price items.

Times (2 shifts): 9 AM – 2 PM and 12 PM – 3 PM.

* Saturday, January 14, 2012: Volunteers needed to help set up and/or break down tables.

Times: 6:30 AM to 8 AM and 1 PM to 3 PM

Donate: Give items to CFLC to raise funds for literacy!

CFLC will gladly accept donated items to help make this yard sale a success. If you, your friends, family, or neighbors have anything to donate for the sale, please contact bwolf-bowen@cfliteracy.org to arrange a drop-off time.

There are a few restrictions, so please call if you have any questions.

Participate: Sell your own items and keep the money!

If you would like to sell your own items, you can purchase a space with a table.

There is a $10 donation fee for space and $15 for space and a table. After January 5th, space will be a $20 donation fee and $25 for space and a table.

Spots will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. Due to limited space, we are unable to store your items. Be sure to come early the day of the sale (between 6:30 AM and 7:30 AM) and remember to take away any unsold items after the sale.

Stop by and shop! There will be some great items for sale, delicious food, and hopefully great weather!

If you would like to reserve a spot or have any questions, please call or email Barie Wolf-Bowen bwolf-bowen@cfliteracy.org, 910-251-0911. Thank you!

CFLC has had an amazing 2011!

• Our grant revenues are 16% more than we budgeted.
• Our fundraisers have all been profitable.
• Our contribution income is ahead of budget.

But…due to the tight economy, we have $60,000 in unfulfilled pledges. This is not good.

We are asking for your help as we work to plug that $60,000 hole. Between November 1 and December 31, we are “pedal-to-the-metal” with our “$60K in 60 days” campaign.

We hope you will join and do whatever you can to help us plug the hole and end the year in good form.

We want to start 2012 looking forward and building momentum, not looking back and trying to cover a 2011 shortfall. THANK YOU!

Our $60k in 60 days Campaign Update 11/23/2011

Creative ways YOU can get involved

WOW! What a great start to this exciting campaign. We have had an overwhelming response and some very unique donations. Thank you for your on-going support!

Our story of the week goes to a non-instructional volunteer, John. John is already a LiteracyTrust 100 donor but he wanted to find another way to support CFLC. He learned from IBM’s HR department that he had volunteered enough hours to be eligible to apply for a Community Grant program, John successfully secured a $1,000 Community Grant!

Do you work for a major corporation?

Your?company may offer matching gifts or volunteer incentive grants. Here are a few corporations we know of that do:

• GE will match donations of $25 or more. Learn more at the GE Matching Gifts website.
• IBM has both community grants and matching gifts program which encourages employees not only to give their money, but their time as well. For more information about community grants, donations to organizations for employees that donate 40 hours over a 5 month period, read IBM’s 2010 Corporate Responsibility Report.
• Verizon Wireless offers has the Verizon Volunteer Program. U.S.-based Verizon employees that journal 50 or more hours this calendar year with the same non-profit organization can apply for a $750 grant for that organization. Learn more ways Verizon employees can make a difference.

Do you work for or own a small business? Last week we presented several ways small businesses can be involved:

• Harmony Yoga hosted an “Open House” event in September. Proceeds from the raffles and donations benefited CFLC.
• In August, Mod Fashion and Accessories had a fashion party and donated ticket proceeds to CFLC.

Individuals can be creative, too! Another opportunity for individuals to get involved is to host an open house. A group in Porter’s Neck held a wine and cheese party at a neighbor’s home to raise funds for their 2011 Spelling Bee for Literacy team. It’s a great time of year to host a get-together.

If you have already donated to us, thank you!

To donate:

Credit Card – call 910.251.0911 or click on the “donate now” button

Check or cash – 1012 S. 17th St., Wilmington, NC 28401

By Si Cantwell, Published Sunday, November 20, 2011

James had a boss who called him “illiterate.” First he got mad…then he got help.

James J. Walton’s boss called him an illiterate idiot. Walton, who had been doing plumbing work for more than 27 years, knew more about the trade than most people he worked for. Yet he had been limited to the lowest job in the hierarchy because he could not read.

Two decades had passed since his last attempt to improve his reading, interrupted by the overwhelming child care responsibilities of a single father. As far back as the fourth grade, Walton remembered, he’d had a problem, but they just passed him up to the next grade, even when he had straight Fs.

He felt like hitting his boss with a shovel. Instead, Walton decided to try again. “You have to be able first to put pride aside,” he said, dark green copper-stained hands fingering his textbook. “Once you do, everything is possible.” Five years later, Walton earned his journeyman’s card. Now he works by himself and can supervise others, who, he said, he would not degrade in the way that boss did.

Walton and his tutor, Bill Dungan, meet twice a week and have for 9 years. Walton turned out to be Dungan’s first and only student. It’s a commitment and friendship and true partnership.

“One of my goals was to get my plumber’s license. I had to learn to read the code book before I could pass the test, which I did,” Walton said. It was a three-hour written exam. “It’s not in plain English, I might add.” Dungan said.

Walton continues to move toward his next goal, to get his General Educational Development (GED) credential, certifying equivalency of a high school education. Until he does, some doors are still closed to him.

Walton’s father is an example of how reading problems can change a life. A welder for more than 40 years, John S. Walton passed up a promotion to teach welding at the shipyard in Newport News, VA, mainly for that reason. “He quit and he came down here and went to work on construction. Just because he didn’t know how to read,” Walton said. His father died two weeks before he could see his son pass the journeyman’s test. “One thing I do regret a little bit is that I didn’t get a chance to pass my test and to show my dad my card before he passed away,” Walton said.