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Around Town: 10/18-10/24

With Fall in full swing, our nonprofits are getting busy! See what great events you can head to in the upcoming week. Are you a current Catalogue nonprofit with an event to promote? Make sure to put it in your portal so you can see your event in an upcoming Around Town! Continue reading

7 Questions – Buzz Mauro & Deb Gottesman (Theatre Lab)

Today, we are welcoming not one … but two non-profit leaders to “7 Questions.” Buzz Mauro and Deb Gottesman are co-directors of The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts, which serves hundreds of youth and adults through its Life Stories program, and hundreds more through classes and summer camps in acting, directing, playwriting, and musical theatre .

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

We are about to embark on a project that is one of our “big dreams:” a theatre and documentary film project by and about the participants in our Life Stories program for homeless women residing in N Street Village’s Recovery Housing Unit. Life Stories is our signature outreach program which trains people from typically marginalized populations to create original dramatic works based on their real-life experiences. We work with incarcerated and severely at-risk youth, seniors, critically ill children and their families, as well as with formerly homeless women. And we now feel that it’s time to share the work of the women from N Street on a larger stage. The monologues, scenes, poetry, and more that these women have created are so powerful and so well-acted that we want to make sure their voices are heard — not only by social justice activists, but also by people who love great theatre.

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Reading the Numbers

When we think about literacy, we often consider letters rather than numbers. But over the past few years, financial literacy has become ever more crucial — and more widely-discussed. And as of this past week, even Elmo has joined that discussion.

For his preliminary lessons in personal finance, Elmo learns the difference between a “need” and a “want,” emphasizing that his father likes the word “prioritize.” The three-and-a-half-year-old Elmo also learns about “deferred gratification” when he realizes that he needs four more dollars to buy a sparkly “stupendous ball” rather than a standard, less-stupendous rubber ball.

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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!

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