October/Fall 2010 WVVA Cohort Events!

Happy October, WVVA Cohort!

The air is cooling, the leaves are falling and the time for giving back to the community is upon us. Do you have a few moments of spare time this Autumn? Please help your WVVA Cohort classmates and LISSA make a difference in the lives of folks all over Virginia, West Virginia and South Carolina by joining in these events!

Saturday, October 30, 2010: Don your best un-scary Halloween costume and join Eileen Marshall and other Cohort members as we read aloud to kids in Fredericksburg, Virginia. We’ll be working with kids and families from 1pm – 3pm in the theater, so please plan to arrive around 12/12:30pm to help set up. We’ll be reading, playing games and passing out treats. Please RSVP to Aileen Marshall marshaam@email.sc.edu by Friday, October 29, 2010 if you’d like to help out. Many hands make for an un-scary good time!

Happening Now: It’s time for another Mildly Attractive Men of LISSA calendar, and 2011 is going to be better than ever! The theme is "Album Covers." We need someone to portray “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince” on the “Purple Rain” cover, and we still need someone to help out with the Bruce Springsteen cover for “Born in the USA.” Get involved, WVVA! All interested gentlemen please contact Chess Schmidt schmidcp@email.sc.edu as soon as possible, as the photo shoots have already begun.

You Can Help! : “The Bookshelf Project,” began as a class project and is spearheaded by a student on campus at U SC. The goal is to collect new and used books of all kinds (children’s, books for adults of all kinds, large print, bilingual, audio books, etc.) to be distributed to those in need in rural areas of South Carolina. The Project is going into homes that are being rebuilt by another charity organization and bringing with them a bookshelf and a minimum of 20 books for each member of the recipient family. That’s a base of 140 books for a family of 7! Whew! You can help. Next time you attend a Cohort event, please consider bringing new or gently used materials to be shipped to South Carolina to help in this endeavor. A new study shows that every 25 books in the home can extend the academic career of a child by two years. The Project plans to distribute 35,000 materials next summer. Let’s give them a boost! Look for more information to come on this initiative!

Give Me 10! : Our Fredericksburg event kicks off the start of a brand new WVVA Cohort community service project called “Give Me 10.” Here’s the plan: Volunteer for 10 hours in any capacity in a library, school or cultural institution in your community. Write a short blog about it, including a photo of you or your group at the site if it’s allowed – and email it to Sara Mason at masonsc@email.sc.edu. These items will be posted to a dedicated blog, along with a running tally of volunteer hours logged so far by WVVA Cohort students. We’ll celebrate in some way in May 2011. Please watch for the release of the URL, and please “Give Me 10!”

Cocky's Reading Express: Please read the text below, forward to me by Jessica Kohout, who works with Cocky's Reading Express! This wonderful program has the chance to compete for a $50,000 grant through the Pepsi Refresh Project. Read on...

In regards to the Pepsi Refresh Project, I think the plan is that we will post how to vote for CRE or "The Reading Express" on Twitter and Facebook (I think we will embed a link on FB). Although WV/VA students may not be able to come on a CRE trip, perhaps they would like to support CRE and vote so that Cocky's Reading Express can get the $50,000 grant. Voting is from November 1st-30th.

Students can "Like" CRE on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CockysReadingExpress.com and follow CRE on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Cockyreads to receive updates and to eventually vote when it begins November 1st. We'll send out more information as time gets closer. : )

Please help Cocky's Reading Express to continue to reach their amazing goals! Contact Jessica Kohout jessica.kohout@gmail.com with questions.

And last but not least...

Homebound: Jenny Goulden, on campus in South Carolina, is heading up the LISSA Homebound Program! If you'd like to work with homebound patrons for your "Give Me 10" project, Jenny would be a great person to meet. All those interested should email Jenny off-list at LISSAhomebound@gmail.com. Thanks for all of your help!

I hope everyone is having a busy and productive semester. Thank you in advance for lending your time and talents to benefit those in need. Questions? Suggestions? Let me know via email, call or Facebook.

Best Wishes,

Sara Mason Rosensteel
masonsc@email.sc.edu
LISSA Secretary
WVVA Chair

October Conferences

I will be attending the VLA and VEMA conferences during the last part of October. Please come to my booth in the Exhibit Hall to (1) say hi if you are a graduate of the cohort or are a present SLIS student and (2) talk with me about our MLIS online, distance education program if you are a potential student who would like to get started ASAP on an MLIS!

I will be at Portsmouth, VA on Thursday, October 21 and Friday, October 22 for the VLA Conference.

I will be in Hampton, VA on Thursday, October 28 and Friday, October 29 for the VEMA Conference.

I look forward to reacquainting with SLIS Cohort WVVA graduates and to meeting potential students interested in a user friendly, rigorous but engaging MLIS program.