2005 Projects

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Verizon Literacy Campus

2005 Projects

alt="child with dictionary"

Third Grade Students
Get Dictionaries Thanks to
Verizon West Pioneers

"Dictionary Project" receives national recognition
The Verizon West Pioneers received the prestigious TelecomPioneers Project Excellence Award for its "Dictionary Project" at the 78^th Annual Meeting of the International TelecomPioneers in San Antonio, Texas, January 21-22, 2005. Five Verizon TelecomPioneer chapters took home six Project Excellence Awards. These projects were funded through Verizon grants.
The "Dictionary Project" addresses literacy and vocabulary in education for third graders in Verizon West communities throughout the nation. Pioneers provided 7,568 dictionaries to students and libraries in five states. The dictionaries remain the property of the students. This number also included several hundred Spanish/English dictionaries and 100 atlases. Bookplates with the branding, "Verizon Reads with the Pioneers" are placed in the front of each book with a line for the student to write his or her name. This project was implemented in partnership with a national organization, The Dictionary Project. For more information, contact Marsha Young at 623-266-6099.

TRIANGLE PIONEERS

“IT FEELS GOOD TO GIVE”

I found out about the Mekye Center from Nia Simmons, we were talking one day at work and she mentioned that she tutored on Saturdays with a program called The Mekye Center Saturday Academy I-CAN program. It's for children with learning differences/disabilities, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia, ADD, and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder). Most of the children have limited resources and come from low-income families in Durham , Orange , and surrounding counties. I thought to myself this sounds like a good thing that The Pioneers could get behind. Nayo Wakins is the founder of the Mekye Center . Once I met Nayo I knew this would be a great program to get behind. Nayo does not receive any federal funding for this program, the only funding she gets is through donations from clubs like the Pioneers. We first helped her last year by purchasing learning materials for the I-CAN academy, we provided learning videos, math counting blocks, work sheets and reading materials, etc. Through out the year if I came across anything that I thought Nayo could use such as binders, paper, pens and pencils, I would bring it to her. So when I found out about the grant money she was the first person I thought of. I presented it to the Pioneer board members and everyone agreed. I have to admit when I got word that The Mekye Center got the grant it sent chill bumps right through me, I was ecstatic! I was telling everyone in the office, you would have thought it was Christmas. So my new saying around the office is, “IT FEELS GOOD TO GIVE”. People say when you help other people you are very generous, I say the opposite, I’m very selfish if folks only knew how much enjoyment I get by seeing the smiles on the kid’s faces when they get a book bag for school that have never had one before. Or the smile on an elderly person when they receive an Easter basket, or the look on Nayo's face when I told her that she received the grant for her I-CAN Academy . This is why I’m in The Pioneers Club, we do so much for the people that truly need it, that’s why I say “IT FEELS GOOD TO GIVE”!

Sincerely,

Brian T. Leach

President of The Triangle Pioneers

Nyao is holding the check for $6,100.00 that will help support the I-can program for this summer

Pictured from left to right:
Natikwa Gonzalez, Wally Bugel (pioneer treasuer), Pearl Shelby, Nyao Wadkins (Founder of The MekyeFoundation), Brian Leach (Pioneer President) and Nia T. Simmons (Tudor for the I-can Program)

alt="Norwesco Pioneers package video games"

NORWESCO TELEPHONE PIONEERS

MATTHEW MURRY TOYS FOR BOYS

Members of the Norwesco Club Everett, WA in photo are placing batteries and packaging 144 hand held video games to be given to needy boys in area public schools in memory of Matthew Murry a Verizon employee and Pioneer Member who was taken from us the past year.

Walter G. Wright Council Donates More Than 400 Books

Through the Season's Readings Project, an initiative of the Verizon Reads Program, the Walter G. Wright Council of the Verizon West Pioneers collected more than 400 new and gently used books. On December 13, Sherm and Ruth Wilkerson delivered them to the
Child Care Resources and Referral Network, an organization managed by Star Literacy.

"These books will be provided to the Salvation Army of Bloomington and added to the Christmas presents given to needy families," said Ruth Wilkerson, secretary, Walter G. Wright Council. "We wanted to donate as many as we could in mid December so they
could be used for the Christmas season."

The Walter G. Wright Council will continue to collect books as part of the Season's Readings Project through the end of December. These additional books also will be donated to needy families through the Star Literacy organization.

The Walter G. Wright Council is headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois. Members meet the first Wednesday of each month in the Verizon cafeteria at 1312 E. Empire Street.

alt="Lone Star Club donates books to school"

The Lone Star Club presented more than 600 books
and a $510 Scholastic Book gift certificate to the
students at the John R. Good Elementary School
in Irving, Texas.

The students were so appreciative they created a webpage with photos of the event. alt="Lone Star Club donates books to school"

To view their page, click here.

and ... an excerpt from the "VZ Today"

EMPLOYEE VOLUNTEERS PROVIDE DSL TO SOLDIERS AT MEDICAL CENTER
When a popular radio show aired some of the challenges facing soldiers being treated at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., Peter Krucoff didn't hesitate. Krucoff, a manager at the DSL network operations center in Greenbelt, Md., called the hospital to ask how he could help. He learned the soldiers felt isolated because they didn't have Internet access. Other companies had already offered computers, network devices and set-up help, but the soldiers had no way to stay in contact with their units overseas and their families back home. Krucoff and co-workers Chris Worthy, a central office technician, and Dare Akinuli, a senior staff consultant in Network Operations, volunteered to install three DSL lines to three Fisher Houses -- the medical center's homes-away-from-home for patients and families. The Verizon Telecom Pioneers raised funds to pay for a year of DSL service.