Literacy Network Welcomes Three New Board Members

The Literacy Network of Greater

Cincinnati (LNGC) recently

appointed three new members to

their board. The new board

members include Carrie Little of

Great American Insurance

Group, Martha Grothaus of

PricewaterhouseCoopers, and

Jim Gillespie of Camargo Road

Enterprises, LLC.

Carrie Little is the Divisional

Vice President of Underwriting

for Great American Insurance

Group. She works for the

Specialty Human Services group

which specializes in insurance

and risk management for

non-profit and social service

organizations. She has a

Bachelor of Science in Business

from Miami University and an

MBA from Xavier University.

She has also been a tutor with

the Literacy Network since 2010.

Martha Grothaus is a CPA for

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)

and has worked at PwC for seven

years. Grothaus has a degree

from the University of

Louisville. She has been

instrumental in the creation of

the Buddy Program between

PwC team members and the

students at Resurrection School

in Price Hill.

Jim Gillespie is Treasurer for

Camargo Road Enterprises,

LLC. Gillespie has a Bachelor of

Business Administration from

the University of Cincinnati as

well as his Masters of Science in

Taxation from the University of

Cincinnati. He has more than

thirty years of experience in the

finance industry. Jim has served

on the Literacy Network’s

Finance Committee since 2014.

“I am elated to have Carrie,

Martha and Jim join our board,”

Literacy Network President

Michelle Otten Guenther stated.

“Their enthusiasm, expertise and

passion for literacy is a

wonderful addition to our team!”

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THE LITERACY LINK

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Left to right: Literacy Network Board Chair Katy Meinhardt,

Jim Gillespie, Literacy Network President Michelle Otten

Guenther, Carrie Little and Martha Grothaus.

The Literacy Network enjoyed cheering on the

walkers and runners at the 2017 Thanksgiving

Day Race in downtown Cincinnati!

Thanks to Busam Subaru of Cincinnati and

the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber for

inviting us to join in the fun! Congratulations

to all of the participants!

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Fund-raisers and Friend-raisers

Busam Automotive Gives Back

Runner Kaitlyn Cappel stops to say hello to the Literacy Network!

Rhinegeist Charitable Suds Partner

Thanks to Rhinegeist Brewery for making the

Literacy Network their Charitable Suds night

recipient in September. We had a great time and

met some wonderful people thanks to your

generosity.

Special thanks to HYPE (Harnessing Young

Professional Energy) Cincinnati for attending this

event with your networking group. It was fantastic

to have energetic, new faces participate and we look

forward to seeing more of you! Board Member Christy Meyer, Board Chair Katy Meinhardt and friends enjoy Happy Hour!

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Thank you to everyone that came out to

the Literacy Network’s "Fiesta at

Fernbank Gift Gathering Party!” The Literacy Network collected over

$8,000 in stylish purses and generous

donations for Handbags for Hope 2018.

We could not do what we do without

our supporters and volunteers!

Thanks to all of our co-hosts, especially

Board Members: Mike Fieler, Harry

Cappel and Katy Meinhardt!

Handbags for Hope

Thursday, February 8, 2018

at the Newport Syndicate

Registration now available:

www.lngc.org Mary Anne Hengehold and

Amy Berning enjoy the fiesta!

Literacy Network President Michelle Otten Guenther with

generous party co-hosts: Harry & Nikki Cappel, Gina & Mike

Fieler and Lin Jung

Handbags for Hope Gift Gathering Party

Congrats to attendance prize winners, Guy & Joyce Cagney!

Oktoberfest Zinzinnati

Half Price Books

Thank you to all of our wonderful

volunteers who staffed the Literacy

Network Beer Booth at Oktoberfest

Zinzinnati this year! Your time and

tips help to support our growing adult

and children’s literacy programs!

Thank you to our wonderful partners at

Half Price Books! On September 12th,

HPB hosted its first ever Literacy

Benefit Day. Five percent of sales from

that day was divided among all of their

partner literacy organizations and the

Literacy Network received a generous

donation of $600!

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Julie Ackerman, an employee at Johnson

Investment Counsel, is an active Winners

Walk Tall (WWT) character coach. Her

passion for WWT began 4 years ago when she

started volunteering at Monfort Heights

Elementary.

After her first year working with students, she

knew she wanted to help more. She became a

leader and advocate for the program at

Monfort Heights. Every year, she recruits more

volunteer coaches from Johnson Investment

Counsel. She even encourages co-workers to

shadow her first, so they feel comfortable.

Julie knows that each volunteer is really

making a difference in these students’ lives.

Julie has worked with first and third graders

and has a special place in her heart for all of

her students. Linda Otten, Monfort Heights

Lead Teacher shared, “She loves the Winners

Walk Tall coaches and Julie is one of the

best!”

When the Literacy Network visited her class in

action, everyone wanted “Ms. Julie” to stay

and were asking when she would be back. The

students showed off their table manners as

Julie reviewed the “Manners Matter” lesson.

Julie told us she gets just as much out of her

experience as the students.

Thank you, Julie!

Neighbors Who Care: Julie Ackerman

T H E L I T E R A C Y L I N K Page 4

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Interested in tutoring children and/or adults?

Please visit our website to see training dates

and sign up for tutor training:

http://www.lngc.org and click “Volunteer.”

Left to right: Linda Otten and Julie Ackerman

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Train Inspires Many and Promotes Literacy Network Mission

While the popular music group

Train was in Cincinnati in June

for their recent “Play That Song”

tour, they generously donated

time to benefit the Literacy

Network of Greater Cincinnati

(LNGC). This unique and

meaningful partnership, made

possible by Q102 and Hubbard

Radio, was in the works far before

June.

Last winter, LNGC taped a video

highlighting our programs in

action around Greater Cincinnati,

with the goal of fighting illiteracy

and inspiring people to become a

part of our mission. In looking for

the perfect song to promote the

power of reading, Literacy

Network staff came across Train’s

song “Brand New Book,” which

perfectly fit with the

organization’s mission.

Literacy Network President

Michelle Otten Guenther shared,

“When we heard “Brand New

Book”, it was undoubtedly our

first choice in a song to feature.

So many of our students, both

adult and children, are able to

begin a brand new outlook on life

because of learning to read. Their

future education, career

opportunities, family lives and

general well-being improve. They

are certainly opening a new

chapter, so the song spoke to us

and inspired us immediately.”

Guenther went on to get

permission to use the song from

Crush Radio in New York. Train

was more than willing to allow

the song to be used for this

purpose. But the story didn’t end

there.

As Train’s tour neared Cincinnati,

Guenther was in contact with

Q102 about asking the band to do

something to continue inspiring

literacy programs in Cincinnati.

Not only did Q102 donate

backstage tickets to meet Train,

they also confirmed Train’s lead

singer Pat Monahan would record

a promotional introduction to

LNGC’s video.

After the concert, Monahan

recorded a video about the

struggles with literacy in the

Greater Cincinnati area. Pat’s

promotion of LNCG is inspiring

to many and helps to educate

people on this issue. As he states

in the video, “With your help we

can tackle the issue of illiteracy.

Reading opens doors to endless

opportunities.”

Thanks to Q102, Hubbard Radio,

Train and especially Pat Monahan

for having such compassion

toward LNGC’s mission and

taking their valuable time to

promote literacy.

Literacy Network’s Michelle Otten Guenther and Shannon Lienemann thank Train's lead singer,

Pat Monahan, at Train’s Meet and Greet in June.

View the video at this link:

https://youtu.be/0oHX5HJ9c1Y

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Together We Can-- Literacy Network Partnerships!

Thanks to the Riverview Delhi Hills Kiwanis Program's

Aktion Club for a great night! The Aktion Club works

with different groups and organizations to provide

programming for their members and participants.

The Literacy Network supplied their activity for the

evening including reading a book on lemonade making

and lemonade bingo. What a great group to work with and

wonderful energy in the room!

Thanks to Katie Hindersman, senior at Mount Notre

Dame High School, who did her capstone project with

the Literacy Network this year! Katie coordinated a fun

event for the Youth Hope Cincinnati's Summer Camp at

Ziegler Park. The kids all got to take home books from the

Literacy Network and made their own bookmarks as a

craft. Great job Katie and good luck in all you do!

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Thanks to Saint Antoninus Elementary School's 4th

Grade Girl Scouts for inviting us to talk about the

importance of literacy. The girls were so engaging! A

special thank you for the generous book donation. They

will help so many adults and children in need!

The Literacy Network was privileged to be selected as a

participant in the 2017 Brackets for Good tournament

and we hope to participate in the 2018 contest as well! If

we are chosen, the contest will kick off Friday, March 2,

2018. Cincinnati nonprofits compete with each other

each week to raise funding for our missions and advance

to the next round. Throughout the tournament,

organizations keep whatever weekly donations they

raise. The winner at the end of the tournament receives

an additional $10,000! Last year, we made it to Round 3.

With your help, we hope to make it even further this

year! Thanks to Brackets for Good and all of our friends

who supported us throughout the contest! Follow us on

Facebook for updated information on this year’s contest.

The SC Ministry Foundation has done so much to

support community efforts throughout the years! We

are deeply grateful for all they have done to help grow

our literacy programs. Sister Julia Deters, this very

special Sister of Charity, helped to found the Literacy

Network back in the 1980’s and has stayed involved

throughout the years. When we ran into her recently, we

had to take a moment to say thank you to Sister Julia for

her impact on our community!

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Literacy Programs in Action

The Literacy Network is pleased to share three new

locations who have recently adopted our Winners Walk

Tall character building program: Winton Hills Academy,

College Hill Fundamental Academy and Cincinnati

College Preparatory Academy. The Winners Walk Tall

program trains character coaches to teach primary

students life lessons, reinforce manners and encourage

responsibility. This year, the Literacy Network has over

180 active character coaches working with children in the

community. Thanks to all those involved in helping to

set-up these new partnerships!

Everyone had a great time at our Children’s Basic

Reading Program holiday visits this year at:

Resurrection Catholic Elementary School, Sayler Park,

Evanston Academy, Hamilton County Math and Science

Academy, Winton Hills, Saint William Elementary,

Sands Montessori and Summit View Elementary. The

Literacy Network is proud to offer a record 17 CBRP

classes this year to help students improve their reading.

We took some much-deserved time to celebrate all of the

students’ hard work with books, activities, special treats

and fun activities.

Special thanks to PricewaterhouseCoopers for taking time

out of your day to help celebrate with the students at

Resurrection, it meant so much to them!

Winton Hills Academy

College Hill Fundamental Academy

T H E L I T E R A C Y L I N K Page 9

Thanks to Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Kroger Community Rewards and AmazonSmile

for donating a percentage of their sales to the Literacy Network! Every little bit helps

our students! For details on how to sign up for these programs, e-mail kim@lngc.org.

Currently, there are four active Adult Basic Literacy

Classes that teach students that read at or below a

fourth grade level. We host one evening class at the

Covedale Library (formerly at Elder High School).

The other three are held during the day, one at the

Norwood Library and the other two at the Literacy

Network offices. Any student interested in adult

reading classes is encouraged to call our hotline at

513-621-READ (7323).

The Literacy Network is excited and proud to welcome Shannon

Lienemann to our team as a full-time staff member! Shannon

began her work with LNGC two years ago through a Scripps

Howard Foundation internship, while she was a Communication

student at the University of Cincinnati. She has already done so

much great work here and has made herself invaluable!

Congratulations and welcome, Shannon!

Staff Updates

Ken Feldmann is the definition of an exemplary Board

Member. He genuinely wants to make the Greater Cincinnati

community a better place to work and live for all! The Literacy

Network has been lucky enough to have Ken on our Board for 20

years! Throughout those years, Ken has served as Board Chair,

Treasurer and currently as Secretary of the Board. He is also a

valuable member of the Finance Committee and is always eager

to help where needed to further the Literacy Network’s mission.

Ken, “thank you” does not begin to describe our gratitude! You

are one of a kind!

Upcoming Events

Thank you to all of the Literacy Network Board Members! Our staff, volunteers, students

and community are so grateful for your ongoing support of our mission.

You are instrumental in making the Literacy Network mission a reality!

Keith Armour Martha Grothaus

Robert Buechner Matthew Gutzwiller, Treasurer

John Busam Dave Heilmann

Harry Cappel Carrie Little

Kathy Allen Ciarla Katy Meinhardt, Chair

Ken Feldmann, Secretary Christy Meyer

Mike Fieler Jason Shorten

Josh Gerth Michelle Stechschulte

Jim Gillespie Anne Zaring

Thank you to all of our corporate and foundation funders and our donors throughout the year!

Your support means the world to the adults and children in Cincinnati who struggle with basic literacy!

*The complete list of donors is published in our Annual Report*

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

A Year in Review: 2016

* Received 2,286 calls on our literacy hotline.

* Served 132 adults with 6 Adult Basic Reading classes.

* Placed 1,850 Winners Read tutors in 36 schools and 7 Boys and Girls Clubs.

* Held 14 Children’s Basic Reading classes for children with severe reading deficiencies.

* Had 176 active Winners Walk Tall character coaches in 40 schools, 7 Boys and

Girls Clubs and the Squash Academy.

T H E L I T E R A C Y L I N K Page 10

*Handbags for Hope 2018: Thursday, February 8, 2018 at the Newport Syndicate

*Adult Spelling Bee for Literacy: Thursday, April 19, 2018 at the Holy Grail Banks

*Taste of Cincinnati Beer Booth: May 26-May 28, 2018

Click on the icons to “like” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter:

Please see this link for details on all of the Literacy Network’s upcoming special events: www.lngc.org.