Skip to main navigation

Catalogue Blog

7 Questions – Patricia M. Donnelly (Literacy Council of Northern Virginia)

Many Catalogue cheers for today’s “7 Questions” guest … Patricia M. Donnelly, Executive Director of the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia. Serving an area where 120 different languages are spoken, the LCNV offers adult education in reading, writing, speaking, and understanding English to over 2,300 students a year.

Interested in learning more? Read onwards … and, swing by “Reading: A Family Affair” on Saturday, March 19 from 9:30 AM – 2:30 PM in Falls Church. Kids can meet Clifford the Big Red Dog, watch the Bob Brown Puppets, learn origami, write and illustrate their own stories, and then take home a free book!

1. What was your most interesting recent project, initiative, partnership, or event?

The Literacy Council initiated Reading: A Family Affair just a few years ago. Compared to fundraising dinners with live and silent auctions, this event is family-friendly and free, brings books to life with the help of local artists, and (most importantly) open to the Literacy Council’s clients. The event is designed for them. The fundraising comes from Corporate and small business sponsorships, who are willing and eager to see a community-based, free, literacy event in their neighborhood. And it’s a lot of fun!

Continue reading

In The News …

Welcome to the first Wednesday in March and your weekly news round-up!

State Arts Agencies — Over at Createquity, Ian David Moss follows up on this post by pointing to two new, online national resources for arts advocates. At the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, you can find a simple (albeit unpleasant) breakdown of “major restructuring or funding elimination proposal” by state. The State Arts Appropriation Network, an affiliate of Americans for the Arts, even provides a click-able US map where you can access past and proposed budget numbers. Moss also makes a great point: check to see if your state representatives are already “in the tank for arts funding” so that you can reach out to friends and networks elsewhere!

Continue reading

Story Store

Just to venture (a bit … or more than a bit) outside the Beltway, do check out this news item from the Rochester, MN, Post Bulletin:

Rick Weiss, who owns Insty-Prints in Rochester, is taking a different tack this year for his annual search for groups deserving of help. He has made annual donations to local organizations for the past 11 years.

Using Facebook and LinkedIn, he launched “a $1,000 Nonprofit Challenge” last week. Weiss is asking people whose lives have been touched by a local non-profit to share their stories. “We want to hear the stories of those organizations that are making a difference,” he says.

Continue reading