Mamie Eisenhower Library Project (MELP):
In 1961
the NFRW established the Mamie Eisenhower Library Project (MELP). This
memorial honoring a former First Lady is another public service of the
NFRW. The Project asks NFRW local clubs and members to donate books and
videos that reflect Republican philosophy, present outstanding Republican
personalities or have historical significance to local public libraries or
school libraries.
For
more information contact MELP Chairman Connie Parish.
MELP
Recommended Book List - 2010
MELP
Recommended Book List - 2010: Addendum I
MELP
Recommended Book List - 2010: Addendum II
What to
do prior to donating a book
Prior
to donating a book you should consult with the local librarian or the recipient
regarding your selection. This will avoid duplication and confirm the
book, tape or video is desired. If your local unit wishes to donate a
book not on this list, please contact the NFRW MELP chair or the NFRW president
for approval.
Participation Recognition
Participation
in this project is recognized by the NFRW Achievement Awards program.
MELP Bookplate Distribution Policy
To request bookplates, clubs should send a list of the books they are donating to
Literacy Committee member Maxine Bennett. Include the club name, the title and
author of the books, and the address to which the bookplates should be sent.
Bookplates will be mailed in return. The Literacy Committee will provide the
state presidents with a list of participating clubs and the number of books
they donate each year. Send to:
Maxine Bennett
Phone: 559-289-5806
garymaxb@sbcglobal.net
Barbara Bush Literacy Project:
In
2002, the NFRW Literacy Committee launched NFRW Literacy Month. Each September,
local clubs have the opportunity to share their projects, ranging from book
donations, tutoring and financial support of literacy programs to special
one-time events like themed parties with authors. The theme is "Readers
Become Leaders."
For
more information about Literacy Month, contact the VFRW Literacy Chairman Sandy Gates;
or NFRW Committee Chair Carol Meny at agmeny@aol.com.
Barbara Bush Literacy 2010 Annual Report
Important Dates for the VFRW Barbara
Bush Literary Project Newsletter
2010
- 1st
District please submit information by July 12th for the newsletter July
14th
- 2nd
District please submit information by August 16th for the August 18th
newsletter
- 3rd
District please submit information by September 13th for the September
15th newsletter
- 4th
District please submit information by October 11th for the October 13th
newsletter
- 5th
District please submit information by November 15th for the November 17th
newsletter
- 6th
District please submit information by December 13th for the December 15th
newsletter
2011
- 7th District please submit
information by January 10th for the January 12th newsletter
- 8th District please submit
information by February 14th for the February 16th newsletter
- 9th District please submit
information by March 14th for the March 16th newsletter
- 10th District please submit
information by April 11th for the April 13th newsletter
- 11th District please submit
information by May 16th for the May 18th newsletter
VFRW Barbara Bush Literacy Sharing Forum
October
2010 VFRW Barbara Bush Literary Project Highlights
News from the Fourth District
The Central Chesapeake Republican
Women’s Club continued their Barbara Bush Literacy Project with Camelot
Elementary School this past school year. Due to the positive reception of
our Celebrity Reading Day at Camelot Elementary School in 2009, the literacy
committee became involved in the EARS (everyone is a reading star) project and
visited the school on a regular basis to assist students in improving their
reading fluency. Carolyn McBride, Dacia Marxrieser, Lori Beth Galbraith,
and Robin Powell volunteered their time with the EARS project.
Throughout the school year members of
the CCRWC donated gently used books to the school library and also donated 3
new Scholastic Elementary Level Thesauri to the students.
Camelot Elementary School started a
reading project which coordinated with the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada. Suzanne Oberlander and Jane Kish presented a program to
the students on the Winter Olympics on January 15th in the school
library. They donated official Olympic book marks and pins along with
several books to the students in the reading project.
On June 4th Kristin Barbour
took her therapy dog, Wrigley, to visit the students at Camelot Elementary
School. A select group of students read to Wrigley in the library and
were very excited to be part of this special experience.
Jane Kish, Literacy Chair, CCRWC
Tri-Cities Area Women's Republican Club
The Tri-Cities Area Women’s Republican
Club has been collecting books over the summer.
In December we will donate them to our
food and clothing shelters to pass out with other items.
Hopefully people who don't get to the
local library will get them and be encouraged to read more.
Julia Skeens
TCARW, President
July 2010 VFRW Barbara Bush Literary Project Highlights
News from the First District
Reported
by Joan D. Craig
President, Jamestown Heritage Republican Women
Our
chairman, Betty Garrington, has been very diligent in collecting and taking
donated books to the James City County Public Library in Norge,Virginia.
To date she has collected a total of 623 books from our members and the year is
not over.
Last
fall Betty presented the following book, The Signers, which is 50
stories behind the Declaration of Independence to the following
schools Jamestown High School in memory of Vila Allen, Lafayette
High School in memory of Ginny McKeag and to Warhill High School in memory of
Ann Worstell.
We
have also donated 75 dictionaries to the Salvation Army to be distributed to
schools, daycare centers or children of their choice.
Along with the continuing collection of books
for the library, we are going to ask members to include any children’s books so
that we can donate these to children in need.
February 2010 VFRW Barbara Bush Literary Project
Highlights
News from the Second District
On Wednesday, September 23, 2009, Princess
Anne Republican Women's Club members, Phyllis Cannon, Glenda Fiscus
and Martha Cisney, presented the students of the Judeo-Christian Outreach
Center Head Start Preschool with 30 patriotic backpacks filled with age
appropriate books, workbooks, colored markers, and pencils for the students
enrolled in the preschool. Phyllis Cannon read the story, "Corduroy,"
aloud to the students. She brought Corduroy the Bear with her to pass
around to the students. Everyone enjoyed hearing the story and receiving
their backpacks to take home to share with their parents.
In the fall of 2002, the
Judie-Christian Outreach Center opened a free preschool for
four-year-old-at-risk students. In September it became a part of the Head
Start Program in Virginia Beach. Located at 1900 Baltic Avenue (on
the corner of 19th and Baltic Avenue), the JCOC Preschool serves children who
otherwise would not have the opportunity to attend pre-school. The JCOC
School offers classes in art, music, reading, and math. The small
classroom setting gives children who attend early childhood programs. This is
one of several community outreach projects to which the PARWC
contributes. It also qualifies as our participation in the Barbara Bush
Literacy Project. Thank you for your support and interest in this
worthwhile activity.
Glenda Fiscus,
Princess Anne Republican Women
Virginia Beach
News from the Ninth District
The Montgomery County Republican
Women coordinated a book drive. They collected gently used
books at MCRW meetings and at other GOP events during the month of
September. They collected nearly 100 books, which were donated to
the Virginia Tech YMCA for the annual YMCA Book Fair. The club also
donated books to the local library, Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library.
Three copies of Loving
Mr. Lincoln: The Personal Diaries of Mary Todd Lincoln by M.
Kay DuPont were donated, one copy to each of the three library branches in
Montgomery County (Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and MeadowBrook Public
Libraries).
News from the Tenth District
Our club, Western Fairfax Republican
Women's Club in the 10th District, has for several years, donated Lynn Cheney's
young people's history books to one or two elementary schools in our
community. These books are popular with the kids and give us a tiny
inside track against the revisionist textbooks the local schools seem to favor.
By the way, our scholarship program is
also, by special permission of the great lady herself, called "The Barbara
Bush Scholarship" and is awarded to an outstanding high school senior who
has demonstrated significant academic and community achievement (particularly
in the Republican arena).
Dottie O'Rourke
President, WFRWC
News from the Eleventh District
The Barbara Bush RWC is currently
helping a second grade teacher build her classroom library. The young
teacher is my daughter who is in the midst of her second year teaching here in
Prince William County. We have donated a variety of age appropriate
books, new and gently used, as well as stuffed animals and characters to go
along with them. I would guess we have donated around 200 books so far
and hope to keep it up. My special project this year is a reading
“center” about the United States Presidents. I decorated a large boot box
with photos of the presidents. Inside are several books about presidents,
flashcards and a notebook with information from the White House website (Bush
administration). The assignments will range from “write the name and
number of a president, memorize the first 10 presidents, the first 20, read the
information and answer the questions from the White House notebook, all the way
to, memorize the Gettysburg Address.” She will introduce the center to
her class this month when they study Washington and Lincoln. We are
excited about the possibility of interesting young children in history.
In 2007, this same daughter, along with a group from James Madison University,
took over 40 books for us to a small school in Loding, South Africa.
Sandy Ahmad
President
Barbara Bush RWC
The Mamie Eisenhower Republican Women's
Club has an ongoing project under the Caring for America program that is also
related to our Barbara Bush Literacy Project. Members have adopted, so to
speak, The Main Street Child Development Center in the City of Fairfax.
This Center provides a “quality accredited early childhood learning program for
children of limited income working families, ages 2 through 6, to grow and
thrive in a nurturing environment.” The Center also, as part of its
mission statement, is dedicated to “enhance the quality of life for our diverse
families …. and to provide educational opportunities and resources that
strengthen literacy, parenting and the family.”
Throughout the year MERWC members have
been donating children’s books to the Center. Some of the books were new,
and some were good condition used books. Our total for 2008 was over
100. In 2009 MERWC members collected books from a children’s consignment
shop and a thrift shop located in Vienna, Virginia as well as from friends and
members. For 2009 MERWC collected approximately 300 books. This has
carried forth into 2010. In January of this year the club collected 205
books to take to Main Street CDC.
The children’s reading books are used
in the school’s library for instruction, in the classroom, and given to a child
as his very own to take home to start his library and to read to his
parents. Some of the books are factual books with information on animals,
environment, and crafts that the teachers can use in the classroom. Some
are bilingual to help teach those children who do not speak English. Other
books are for an older child who may be a brother or sister of a student.
These books are given to the child.
Some of the MERWC members volunteer to
go to the Center and read to the children. The children love to have
someone read to them and talk about the story. This year-round project
has been very appreciated by the staff of The Main Street Child Development
Center, and is rewarding to MERWC members.
