2024 Literary Event: A Magnificent Success! | |
From Left to Right: GECRC Executive Director Leah Harding, 'The Half Moon' author Mary Beth Keane and Literary Event Committee Chair Janis Pfister | | |
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What an incredible night! Our annual Literary Event featuring acclaimed author Mary Beth Keane on April 18 was a tremendous success, raising more than $25,000! More than 140 attendees listened to Mary Beth’s remarks on her fourth novel ‘The Half Moon,’ which was released in paperback format April 2. We are so grateful to Mary Beth for traveling to Glen Ellyn to share her insightful wit and wisdom with us!
We would like to thank the Bookstore of Glen Ellyn for their partnership in making this event possible. If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading ‘The Half Moon’ yet, you can purchase a copy from The Bookstore.
Thank you so much to all of our generous sponsors, including our Book Lovers level sponsors Glen Ellyn Bank & Trust and the Kiwanis Club of Glen Ellyn.
For a complete list of sponsors, raffle and silent auction donors, please see the "Thank You, GECRC Community" list below.
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Lincoln students had quite a treat this month when Kaytlin Gilbert from the Illinois Soybean Association paid a visit to teach the students how to grow their very own beans at home. U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (IL-6th) and Illinois State Senator Laura Ellman joined the fun, helping the students with their plastic bags containing bean seeds and a damp paper towel. Students were instructed to place the bags next to a window at home so they can watch them grow! A huge thank you to Ms. Gilbert, Rep. Casten and State Senator Ellman for taking the time out of their schedules to visit with our students and teach them something new! | |
At Park View, students regularly enjoy reading time with their "reading buddies." Reading is that much more fun with a friend! Learning to love literacy starts at a young age! | |
Local author and Lincoln/Hadley/Glenbard West alumna Tracie Marie visited the Park View students in March to read her children's book 'Mac to the Rescue- a Short Tail,' which is about her real-life rescue dog named Mac. The students loved the book and enjoyed asking Ms. Tracie questions about Mac and her book. Thank you, Ms. Tracie, for visiting and sharing your delightful story with the students. To learn more about her book, visit her website. | |
A heartfelt thank you to Nancy Reppe from 4-H who visited our 3rd grade students at Churchill once a week for six weeks to teach a "Little Roots" gardening class. The students learned a great deal about seeds, plants and the growing process. | |
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Happy Pi Day!
Congratulations to our Pi Day (3.14) winners Anna Semprevivo (Facebook social media drawing) and Ellen Brannegan (Instagram social media drawing, pictured here with GECRC Board President Celia Rodee). Each of these wonderful GECRC supporters won a fresh homemade lemon-blueberry streusel pie direct from Celia’s kitchen. Congratulations to both Anna and Ellen!
And if that wasn't already enough excitement for one Pi Day, Celia also delivered individual mini lemon-blueberry pies to the students in the Lincoln program.
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Welcome to Our New GECRC Board Member! | |
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Please join GECRC in welcoming Becky Gasaway to its Board of Directors!
Becky is a school psychologist working in Wheaton CUSD200. After earning her Masters of Education (MEd) in Psychology in 2018 and her Education Specialist Degree (EdS) in School Psychology in 2021 from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, she has been working at the middle and high school levels for the past four years.
Becky grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and earned her BA in advertising from Iowa State University. Her first career was in advertising with an emphasis in media research, planning and investment, including nearly 10 years at Starcom Worldwide.
Becky and her husband have two children who have attended/are attending D41 schools; she has lived in Glen Ellyn since 2012. She has served on the Glen Ellyn Newcomers and the D41Kids executive boards during in her time in Glen Ellyn.
Welcome, Becky! GECRC is so thrilled to have you on the Board of Directors!
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Our featured volunteers of the month of May are mother-son duo Jackie and Jasper Reeves.
Jackie is a school social worker currently in the role of student support specialist at Glenbard West High School, and Jasper is a sophomore at Glenbard West. He plays baseball at West as well as for DuPage Training Academy as a catcher.
Jackie started volunteering for GECRC in 2017 when her two children were students at Churchill Elementary. They were new to the school and community and looking for ways to get involved, and volunteering with GECRC seemed like a great way for Jackie to use her Spanish skills and experience working with children.
Jasper started volunteering with the Churchill program during his 8th grade year. This was when the pair started attending program together to volunteer, and also brought a group of other 8th grade boys along each week to volunteer on the same day as well. Having friends join as a weekly event helped add even more fun to the experience.
“One of the most gratifying things about my volunteer experience is helping students become more confident and proud of their skills and ability to grow through anything tough that they go through, whether it is a really hard math problem set or tricky social situations with their peers,” says Jackie.
Jasper enjoys “giving back to youth, and being someone that they can talk to, have fun with, and look up to, all while helping kids with making homework and studying more fun.”
Thank you, Jackie and Jasper, for your dedication to the students of GECRC! Volunteer tutors like the two of you are the heart of our organization!
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Congratulations, John and Celia!
GECRC was well represented at the Glen Ellyn Community Awards in March, as our long time dedicated volunteer tutor John Walker was recognized as the Paul Herwaldt Senior Citizen of the Year, and our Board President Celia Rodee was honored as the Stuart S. Stone Citizen of the Year! John's Award was presented by Jaipreet Singh, a Glenbard West sophomore who was one of John's many students whose lives he positively impacted over his years tutoring at GECRC. Both John and Celia have dedicated countless hours of their time to our organization, and we could not be more proud of both of them! Congratulations, John and Celia!
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We wanted to give an extra special shout out to our HIT (high impact tutoring) volunteers this year, from left to right, Liz Skirvin, John Walker and Lynn Lullo. These dedicated volunteers spent three days a week tutoring students as part of a joint effort between District 41 and GECRC to work towards closing the achievement gap in the district. Thank you so much to Liz, John and Lynn for the extra time and care you selflessly gave to our students! | |  |
We love our volunteer tutors! Our tutors at all five of our sites were all smiles when they received their GECRC tote bags as tokens of our appreciation for all of their time and dedication this school year! We wrapped up National Volunteer Appreciation Week with these gifts, but our volunteers should know that we appreciate them each and every single day! | | |
Thank You, GECRC Community! | |
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We are so grateful to the Glenbard West Fashion Club for donating the proceeds from their incredibly successful “Frosted in Fashion” show in March to GECRC! Combined with what was raised at the fashion show last year, the Fashion Club is donating more than $1500 to GECRC this year!
We appreciated the opportunity to speak a bit at the show about the mission of GECRC and how high school students, their parents and friends can get involved as volunteer tutors.
Congratulations to all of the show models and organizers on such a wonderful event, and thank you again to the Fashion Club of Glenbard West!
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Thank you so much to The Bookstore of Glen Ellyn for the generous check for $3000 generated from their Blind Date with a Book sale in February! (Store manager Grace presented the check to members of our staff and board in the photo above.) The Bookstore sold 150 Blind Date books for a combined donation of $1,500, and an incredibly generous anonymous donor agreed to match the donation to the GECRC, totaling $3,000.
Thank you to all of The Bookstore customers who purchased books in this creative annual fundraiser!
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Thank you so much to Glen Ellyn Bank & Trust for speaking to the students at several of our sites about money management and long- and short-term financial goals! Their talks were geared specifically toward elementary and middle schoolers. It's never too early to start learning good financial habits! | | |
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We are grateful to Two Hound Red Brewing Co. for hosting four "Half Moon Nights" to help us raise awareness about our Literary Event.
Those who have read the book know that "The Half Moon" is a local favorite bar just like 2HR!
When attendees mentioned "Half Moon Nights" to 2HR staff on those nights, the brewery donated a portion of the check to GECRC! Thank you, 2HR!
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Save the Date: Rock the Block 2024 | |
Mark your calendars for Rock the Block 2024! It will be held on Saturday, Sept. 7 in various neighborhoods around town! If you are interested in hosting a Rock the Block party, please contact GECRC Board Member Karen Winter at karenwinter6@mac.com. | |
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Thank you to the following organizations who recently donated to support our five after school programs, either financially through grants or donations, or through in-kind donations, specifically for our Literary Event fundraiser. We are very appreciative of your support of GECRC!
Grants:
First Congregational Church of Glen Ellyn
Literary Event Sponsors and Donors:
Glen Ellyn Bank & Trust
Kiwanis Club of Glen Ellyn
Balance Yoga + Pilates
Ball Foundation
BP Wash 'n Go
Carrie & Renee Team- Compass Realty
Casey's Gas Station
Crowne Plaza
Dairy Queen of Glen Ellyn
Identity Graphics
Julia Smith Architecture
Laubinger & Associates, LLC
Marcels/Marche
Papier Girl
Park and Oak
Quaid and Rooney's Broker|Owners
Sign of the Whale
String Theory
Theresa Hiser
TKS Design Group
In-Kind Raffle and Silent Auction Donations for the Literary Event:
a la main
Ashley Van Lopik
Bench 492
Blackberry Market
Burger Social
Crowne Plaza
Crumbl Cookies
Dairy Queen
Dr. Leslie Wardell
DuPage Children’s Museum
Enchantments
Gather and Collect
Gia Mia
Gilda Ross
Glen Ellyn Police
Good Roots
Hale Street Cantina
Health Track Sports Wellness
Jayne
Jeans and Cute Top Shop
Koze
M&Em’s
MacAnnich Arts Center
Marci Meyers
Mion Artisan Soap
My Half of the Sky Coffee Shop
Nothing Bundt Cakes
Olive and Vinnies
Papier Girl
Paramount Theater
Proof No. 5
Sign of the Whale
String Theory
Tasting DeVine
The Bookstore
Theresa Hiser
Two Brothers Round House
Two Hound Red
Village Links
Vintage Charm Wheaton
Vintage Moon Studio
Wheaton Yamaha Music School
Three Local Book Clubs: The Book Club, Novels and Neighbors, and Bound by Books
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Want to Give Back?
Our volunteer tutors are so invaluable to the mission of GECRC. Volunteering is a mutually beneficial experience where volunteers engage with students, staff and their fellow volunteers in meaningful and purpose-driven ways. Some wonderful and long-lasting mentoring relationships develop between tutors and students!
If you or your high school student or perhaps even retired parents or neighbors would be interested in becoming a volunteer tutor this summer please complete a volunteer application to join us! If you've tutored in the past, please send an email to volunteer@gecrc.com.
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GECRC’s fun and academically rich summer program runs four days per week for six weeks starting June 24 at Forest Glen Elementary, and is open and cost-free to all elementary and junior high students in D41 and D89 who meet eligibility requirements. Programming is aimed at ensuring all children in need have access to academic and social support during summer break to prevent the "summer slide", and includes engaging PBL academic projects, mentorship, enrichment activities, field trip experiences and a "camp" week.
The summer program is made possible by generous donations from our supporters. A $50 donation covers the cost of an enrichment activity for one student; $250 covers six weeks of the program for one student, and $500 covers a field trip for all 175 students. Thank you so much for your kind support! https://www.gecrc.com/donate-today/
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346 Taft Avenue, Suite 205
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137
Office: 630 479-9920
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