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WEEKLY FAX OF LIFE INSPIRATIONAL E-MAIL – This week’s title:
is “How to Plant Your Garden;” Click here
for link.
SPECIAL RKC EDITORIAL
REPORT – ACTION NEEDED ON RIF FUNDING
THREAT
On
February 1, 2009, President Obama’s fiscal year 2011 budget request was
released. Among other provisions it proposes eliminating the Federal share
of funding for Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) and its nationwide services.
This
proposed deletion is a replay of previous presidential efforts in this
area. Such efforts have consistently been rejected by both Republican and
Democrat Congresses. Why? Because without Federal funding, more than 4.4
million lower income children and families will not receive free books or
reading encouragement from RIF programs.
No
official rationale has been given for the ongoing administration efforts to
delete the $25 million line item grant to RIF.
It has been speculated that Department of Education staffers simply want a
source to fund other efforts and do not particularly appreciate RIF’s
independent activities separate efforts, which focus on lower income areas
with proactive schools.
RIF has been an important force in promoting literacy and
interest in reading since its founding by Mrs. Robert McNamara (wife of he then Defense Secretary in the Kennedy Administration)
in the late sixties. Locally all Garvey and Rosemead
Elementary schools, plus Temple Intermediate School,
have RIF programs, in part due to the
active involvement of the RKC. benefitting several
thousand students. Collectively these local RIF
efforts distributed over 10,000 books in the Garvey and Rosemead districts during 2009.
RIF is
strongly encouraging all of its friends and supporters to act now to help RIF reinstate its funding. Specifically they are
requesting emails members of Congress asking them to sign the RIF Dear
Colleague letter, found here.
Two
important steps are being requested, both involving RIF-supplied Internet template
located here
.
This
template is designed, upon insertion of your Zip code, to facilitate the
following two requests:
·
First contact your House of Representatives member (for Rosemead this is
Congresswoman Judy Chu) between now and March 5;
·
Then contact your U.S.
senators (for California
these are Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein) between March 8 and April 2.
After
entering your name, address and an authentication code (very critical) the
template will send a message directly to our Congressperson and Senators.
It only takes a couple minutes.
In
addition to your own efforts, RIF
encourages forwarding of this message to friends, colleagues, or
contacts. Ask them to send a message as well. Also, feel free to post
this information on Facebook, Twitter, blogs or
any other social networks to which you belong. Remember, constituent voices
are the most important resource we have as citizens when dealing with
Congress. .
(Note: the rosemeadkiwanis.org website now has a
three year accumulation
of Fax
of Life inspirational monographs available for review – see the Fax
of Life link at bottom of the “Newsletters” section of the
website.)
SPECIAL EDITORIAL: Kiwanian Virginia Petersen
Named
California School Superintendent of Year
Kiwanian Virginia Petersen, Superintendent
of the Garvey School District, has been named California’s School Superintendent of
the Year. The honor is actually a tribute to the entire team of
teachers, staff, parents and community members whose combined efforts have
contributed to the District ‘s improvement in
recent years.
Among the contributing elements:
·
Presence of the Kiwanis supported RIF (Reading is
Fundamental) program in all Garvey District elemebntary
schools.
·
Support by the Rosemead Kiwanis foundation for the
District’s after school program prior to availability of Proposition 49
funds.
·
Continuation and expansion of the after school program
via the Woodcraft Rangers to all Rosemead
elementary schools.
·
Sponsorship of the “7 Habits of Highly Effective
People” program by the Rosemead
based Panda Corporation.
·
The award winning Saturday Academic Academy (at Temple
Intermediate)) as well as highly placing Science Olympiad and Mock Trial
teams (from Garvey Intermediate.)
·
Interaction with PTO (Parent Teacher Organizations) and
meetings of the Rosemead City Safety Department by Virginia and District staff members.
Both by day and frequently in the evening Virginia has been personally and tirelessly involved
in meetings and activities related to the above, many times in concert with
RKC members and others from the Rosemead
community. The very deserving recognition extended to her by California is shared
vicariously by everyone who has been involved.
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