Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center

International Night 2012

2012-01-24T10:51:00.000-08:00

GECRC students came out in force to participate in Lincoln School's International Night on January 19! 70 GECRC students, parents, and siblings proudly displayed posters about their cultures, wore traditional clothes, and shared their cuisine with other Lincoln families.

On a Winter's Day...

2012-01-18T10:12:00.000-08:00

On Friday, GECRC students enjoyed an afternoon of sledding--with hot chocolate waiting for them inside when it got too cold. For many of our students it was the first time sledding...and first time drinking hot chocolate (they loved both!)

Potluck Dinner from the "Celebration of Light." December 15, 2011. Be Sure to Scroll Down to see additional Pictures from the celebration!

2012-01-07T11:02:00.001-08:00

Here are a few pictures taken, during our potluck dinner, during the "Celebration of Light" on December 15, 2011. GECRC kids, their families, staff, & volunteers are in the pictures below! Please Remember to scroll down to see more pictures from the celebration!

Celebration of Light

2012-01-06T10:32:00.000-08:00

Our 2011 Celebration of Light featured a showcase, prepared over many weeks by our GECRC students and volunteer Miss Bethany. We enjoyed food from around the world as we celebrated another successful semester at Resource Center. Thank you to all who attended and participated to make this event special.

NaNoWriMo Celebration Photos

2012-01-06T10:27:00.000-08:00

Did you know GECRC students wrote 20,579 words during National Novel Writing Month in November. We celebrated with a pizza party and sharing our stories on stage.

Halloween at GECRC

2011-11-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

Fall Student Survey

2011-10-20T09:16:00.001-07:00

Hey GECRC Students! Help us out by completing this survey by November 20.

Loading...

GECRC gears up for fall!

2011-07-26T08:39:00.001-07:00

We are so excited to welcome volunteers and students back to our After-school program! This fall we will be changing our structure a little bit in order to provide the best program for our growing numbers of students and volunteers. Volunteers will now be matched with the same student each week for one-on-one tutoring. Tutoring will always take place Monday-Thursday, 4:30-5:30pm. Want to work with more than one student? Tutors are always welcome to come at 3:25 to help out during our workshops--or to come on Friday to help with stations.

Check out our new schedule below...

Monday – Thursday

3:25-3:45 Students check in, eat snack in Old Gym, sign up for workshops

3:45-4:30 Student's Choice Workshops (Each day is different! Students can choose from a variety of extracurricular activities like soccer, knitting, and Newspaper Club. The library will always be open during this time for students looking for a quiet place to read or complete homework)

4:30-5:30 Half of the students will work with volunteer tutors to complete their homework, and work on reading, writing, and math activities. The other half will be divided into grade-level groups and will meet with Ms. Lauren or Ms. Monica for special KidzLit activities or science experiments.

Friday

3:25-3:45 Students check in, eat snack in Old Gym

3:45-4:00 All GECRC Meeting

4:00-5:30 Stations! Students will rotate through a number of activities including cooking, computers, art, and more.

Know someone who might make a great tutor? We need a total of 120! New volunteers can fill out an application online at http://gecrc.org/Volunteer.html or email volunteer@gecrc.org

GECRC links

2010-10-28T10:27:00.000-07:00

Hey GECRC students!

Are you ready for NaNoWriMo?

Go here to find Mr. Z's links:

http://edu.symbaloo.com/login.form.

Want to check up on our NaNoWriMo progress?

http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/node/795568

Need to login to your glog?

http://edu.glogster.com/login/

Links for Mr. Z's workshops

2010-09-15T10:35:00.000-07:00

hey GECRC students -

Here are some links from Mr. Zach that you will be using in workshop!

http://www.jigsawplanet.com/

http://edu.glogster.com/login/

http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/fontstructor

http://www.weboword.com/

http://www.meegenius.com/

http://www.creaza.com/frontpage

http://domo.goanimate.com/

http://www.weeklyreader.com/kids/games/subtraction.asp

2010-07-15T05:35:00.000-07:00

GECRC Summer Program - Week 4

2010-07-15T04:34:00.000-07:00

GECRC Summer Program - Week 3

2010-06-26T10:31:00.000-07:00

GECRC Summer - Week Two

2010-06-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

GECRC Summer - Week 1

2010-06-04T05:18:00.000-07:00

Pepsi Refresh Project
Vote in June to Make a Difference in Glen Ellyn

The Glen Ellyn Children’s Resource Center and Supplies 4 Success have a chance to win big bucks from Pepsi and you can help them do so! Both organizations have been chosen for the Pepsi Refresh Project, which will award $5,000 and up to organizations which get the most votes.

The GECRC and S4S help needy children in the Glen Ellyn area every day! We need your votes and we need your help to get the word out! Every single person (age 13 and older) can vote from every e-mail address that you have every single day for ten different ideas during the month of June. Vote today! Vote tomorrow! Vote every day until June 30!

To vote, go to www.refresheverything.com. In the Q search box located in the upper right-hand corner, input “Glen Ellyn”. Our two ideas will be listed first. You must register before you vote for the first time. The website will acknowledge that you have successfully voted. When you click on our ideas, you will get more details about us and you can see why you should vote. Every vote counts…remember, you can vote for the GECRC and S4S every single day in June! Please vote and help us get the word out!

2010-05-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

Here we are again!

Mr. Z turns into Captain Coordinate: 'Understanding Scale'

2010-05-13T11:18:00.000-07:00

Kane Co. Cougars!

On May 7th 51 students with 15 volunteers headed out to the Kane Co. Cougar Baseball game to celebrate a year of reading success! Here are some of the highlights

Fullersburg Woods

April 30th we headed to the Fullerburg Woods were we participated in a sensory scavenger hunt! What an amazingly beautiful day to play & experience the woods together.

2010-05-11T10:06:00.000-07:00

Mr. Z Strikes Again

National Geographic World Map

Splat Square
Switcheroo Zoo

PicLit

Fontstruct

Kerpoof!

Have Fun!

2010-05-07T07:22:00.001-07:00

May 2010 -

2010-05-06T06:42:00.000-07:00

GECRC Students learn how to blog & respond:

Will Jordan Romero Make It to the ‘Top of the World’?

Jordan Romero is about to set out on the adventure of his life. He is getting ready to climb the world’s tallest mountain, Mount Everest, which rises more than 29,000 feet along the border of China. If 13-year-old Jordan accomplishes his goal, he will be the youngest person to stand at the top of the world.

Jordan is an experienced mountain climber who has proven himself on many other mountains. When he was just ten years old, he became the youngest person to climb Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro. In 2008, he climbed North America’s highest mountain, the 20,000 foot-high Mount Denali in Alaska. So far, as a matter of fact, Jordan has climbed the highest mountain on five of Earth’s seven continents.

Jordan knows all about the difficulties he will face on his Everest climb. Hurricane-force winds blow atop Everest much of the year. Temperatures can sink to 100 degrees below zero, and climbers often experience difficulty breathing as they climb. The youngest climber to climb Everest so far, a 16-year-old boy from Nepal, lost five fingers to frostbite as a result of his climb.

Many people say a 13-year-old boy has no place on Everest. Hundreds of people have died in their attempts to reach the peak, they say. But Jordan disagrees. He says his mind and body are set to go. “I’ve been training for four years,” he said. “I feel ready and I just want to start climbing now.”

Jordan will be accompanied on this climb by his father, his father’s girlfriend, and three guides, or sherpas, who know the mountain well. “If we encounter danger on the climb, we will not be afraid to turn back,” said Paul Romero, Jordan’s father. "We may or may not reach the top this time.”

If Jordan is successful in his quest to climb Everest, he hopes to climb Antarctica’s highest mountain later this year. With those two climbs completed, he will have achieved his dream of being the youngest climber to reach the highest spots on all seven continents.

Today, Jordan and his father are living at an Everest base camp about 18,000 feet above sea level. They are waiting for perfect weather conditions so they can begin their climb.

Questions:
Is Jordan too young to climb Everest?
Why do you think that way?

2010-05-04T11:29:00.000-07:00

Fonstruct! Construct those fonts!

2010-04-27T06:23:00.000-07:00

GECRC Wish List

The Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center is active in a number of ways through providing both literacy and life skills programs to the students we serve throughout the year, especially students who are early English Language Learners and learn best through interactive and engaging lessons and educational activities.

Every day, generous donors & volunteers step forward to help us in our mission. They donate money, gifts, and time. We are truly greatful by the response we receive from those who seek to help us 'do the most good' in our community every day.

While there is incredible generosity offered to the Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center every day, there are always additional needs that will help us better serve the individuals and groups that seek our support and help. In this section of the web site, we present an always-changing Wish List of items that we hope generous contributors will feel inspired to donate or contribute towards. If you're not able to donate, we appreciate your support and time for the fulfillment of our needs.

Following is a list of items some of you may just have tucked and stored away that you may just want to give! Please stay tuned each week as the list may change! To make any material or financial contributions to help us with Our Wish List, please contact Jessica Rozga at 630/899-9919. We greatly appreciate your support!

Wish List
Tabletop Dry Erase Board (8)
Blank white paper
Pillows for our summer literacy centers
Rugs to read on for the summer literacy centers
Puppets
Big moving box (to crawl into and read)
Tacks (4 boxes)
Magnetic ABC Letters
Wooden ABC Letters
Letter Stamps
Prefix, Suffix and Roots in magnetic, wooden, foam or cards
Rulers
Foam ABC Letters
Big Binder Clips
Coffee Cans
Plastic Tubs (Dollar Tree)
Ziploc Bags (gallon or quart size)
Dry Erase Markers
Tin Drip Pan (used for working on cars)
Pointers to use while reading
50 to 100 piece puzzles
pocket charts (please click on each of the following three items to view pocket charts) :
6 of these
6 of these
6 of these
Special stationary
Clipboards
Old greeting cards
Stickers
Fancy pens
Ink pads

* Please note that all requests made in bold are most needed at this time.

Most importantly, we need your time! As we seek to increase our creativity and enrichment activities this summer we need your help! Please consider giving of your time this summer in not only assisting with the students during hours of operation but in the preparation work as well! If you're interested in more information please contact Jessica Rozga at 630/899.9919 or director@gecrc.org

2010-04-22T10:37:00.000-07:00

For Mr. Zach: BOMOMO!

2010-04-19T06:28:00.000-07:00

Good Times at GECRC

With so much going on this spring season at GECRC we wanted to take a moment to up-date each of you with not only a list of up-coming/on-going events but provide you with a supply of pictures of the last couple of weeks.

Dates, Events & Programs Galore!

April 30th - Although Lincoln has a 1/2 day of school GECRC will celebrate Arbor Day with a tip to Fullersburg Woods. If you're interested in chaperoning please let us know!
April 6th – May 27th - Tuesday and Thursdays girls in grades 3 – 5 will be participating in Girls on the Move
May 7th - Big thanks to all of the volunteer chaperons as we accompany students to attend the Kane Co. Cougar Game
Art Café will continue on Thursdays
Yoga will continue on Wednesdays
April 13th – May 18th - Each Tuesdays, ELL students grade 1-2 will participate in singing exercises with Emily Ellsworth from Anima.
GECRC Soccer will continue to practice on Thursday afternoons with games the following Saturday at Ackerman Park. Please see our blog for more details regarding game dates and times.
April 12th – Library night with the Glen Ellyn Public Library
Girl’s Gab Time is coming to a close with a last date on May 1st.
May 27th – End of the Year Open House at Lincoln Elementary School. More details coming in May!

We would like to thank each of our amazing volunteers who endlessly put in many hours of preparation, time and energy to make each program run with ease and success.

In addition, we would like to thank two gracious donors who outfitted our Girls on the Move participants with new running shoes and soccer team with new cleats, socks and shin guards. Your gift has been such a gift to each and every child.

2010-04-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

Alright Ladies & Gentlemen

Here are some links from Zach right to you! Hope you enjoy!

Math Tic Tac Toe

Pumpkin Carving

Presidential Hangman

Beat the Clock!

Know Your States

Planetfesto

2010-04-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

GECRC Rules the Soccer Field!

Come on out and cheer them on THIS coming Saturday, April 17th.
Game time & location: 10:30am
We'll look forward to seeing you there!

2010-04-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

Girls on the Move get Movin'

If you're interested in what's going on with our Girls on the Move program please take some time and look at the information below:

Lessons

If your interested in coming to cheer on our soccer team during the Glen Ellyn Park District Soccer here are the dates and times of our games:

GECRC Soccer Schedule for Blog

All soccer games will be held at Ackerman Park in Glen Ellyn.

2010-04-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

For Today & Tomorrow:

Wildlife Filmmaker - Take One!

Poetry Wham-Slam

2010-03-24T06:51:00.000-07:00

Some Fun Sites for Some REALLY Fun Kids!

Learning & Matching Words to Ideas

Word Family Sort

More Amazing Word Sorting

Constructing Words Together

Reading Games

2010-03-23T10:29:00.000-07:00

Exciting Things Are Happening!

Girls on the Move -

Girls group schedule -

null -

2010-03-23T08:29:00.000-07:00

Here you go kids!

Workshop Link: Music Box Grid

chart 12 -

2010-03-22T08:16:00.001-07:00

New Opportunities to Serve & Celebrate

Spellapalooza a Success!
The Glen Ellyn Children’s Resource Centers’ 2nd Annual Spellapalooza fundraiser took place last Friday, March 12. At the end of the evening, only one winner took home the prize. ‘Spellin’ for Ellen’, a group of women supporting the late founder of the Resource Center, Ellen Weissbrodt, showed everyone that they alone were the master spellers. Last year, ‘Spellin’ for Ellen’ shared the grand prize. The Book Store from Glen Ellyn took home the consolation prize, after losing the spell off in the final round.

Fans from Abraham Lincoln Elementary School were the winners of the coveted ‘Sprit Award’. The competition for this award was fierce, but the Leopards from Lincoln brought over 50 enthusiastic fans and won the sweet reward. A cake donated by Flour Barrel Bakery in Glen Ellyn will be delivered to the school in the coming weeks.

In the audience participation round of the spelling bee, two individuals received perfect scores. Glen Ellyn residents Margot Zwierlein and Peter Cooper received “Chumpion Speller” t-shirts, which they can wear proudly throughout the year!

The real winner of SPELLAPALOOZA is the Glen Ellyn Children’s Resource Center. This years’ event raised over $7,000 to aid the literacy programs offered by the Center. Said event organizer Kasey O’Connell, “The support that the community showed GECRC was amazing! We exceeded the amount raised last year by 20% which is so helpful in this tough economic situation.”

Do You Enjoy Filing, Copying, Pasting & Cutting?
If so, then we have an opportunity for you! As we prepare for the summer program and begin to close out our after school program we are looking for willing and eager volunteers to help us out. Possible tasks may include filing papers, alphabetizing files, sorting and boxing books, laminating, cutting and preparing for various literacy workshops as well as assisting in various other odds & ends.

If the idea of organizing sparks your interest please contact Jessica Rozga at director@gecrc.org or give her a ring at (630) 899-9919.

Volunteer Survey Feedback
A big thanks to all who took the time to fill out the Volunteer Survey sent out over the past month. Many of you offered not only valuable information but gave great suggestions, ideas and encouragement!

Results of the survey will be available as early as next week and will be sent out with the Volunteer E-Notes. If you haven't yet had time to fill out the volunteer survey and are still interested, click here and you will be taken directly to the survey.

After School Schedule
Due to District 41 Spring Break, GECRC will NOT be holding our after school program from Friday, March 26th through Friday, April 2nd.

Classes and our after school program resume on Monday, April 5th. We look forward to seeing you then!

Facebook
To keep up to date with program happenings and such become a facebook fan TODAY!

2010-03-19T13:06:00.000-07:00

Exploring Past, Present & Future

Here is your link kids to exploring the past, present & future of geography!

Have fun!

2010-03-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

SPELLAPALOOZA a Success!

The Glen Ellyn Children’s Resource Centers’ 2nd Annual Spellapalooza fundraiser took place last Friday, March 12. At the end of the evening, only one winner took home the prize. ‘Spellin’ for Ellen’, a group of women supporting the late founder of the Resource Center, Ellen Weissbrodt, showed everyone that they alone were the master spellers. Last year, ‘Spellin’ for Ellen’ shared the grand prize. The Book Store from Glen Ellyn took home the consolation prize, after losing the spell off in the final round.

Fans from Abraham Lincoln Elementary School were the winners of the coveted ‘Sprit Award’. The competition for this award was fierce, but the Leopards from Lincoln brought over 50 enthusiastic fans and won the sweet reward. A cakedonated by Flour Barrel Bakery in Glen Ellyn will be delivered to the school in the coming weeks.

In the audience participation round of the spelling bee, two individuals received perfect scores. Glen Ellyn residents Margot Zwierlein and Peter Cooper received “Chumpion Speller” t-shirts, which they can wear proudly throughout the year!

The real winner of SPELLAPALOOZA is the Glen Ellyn Children’s Resource Center. This years’ event raised over $7,000 to aid the literacy programs offered by the Center. Said event organizer Kasey O’Connell, “The support that the community showed GECRC was amazing! We exceeded the amount raised last year by 20% which is so helpful in this tough economic situation.”

The GECRC has been providing cost-free, after-school and summer educational support services for low-income children since 2002. The Center, located in Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, relies on the support of donations and grants.

2010-03-15T09:53:00.001-07:00

Spellapalooza!

If you missed out on some of the spelling action this past Friday, here is a little taste of the heated competition:

2010-03-12T05:35:00.000-08:00

Mr. Zach is at it again!

New websites to be used for up & coming workshops!

25 Wonderful Places To Visit In Your Lifetime

Interesting Places From Around The World

National Geographic Ultimate City Guides

National Geographic Young Explorers

Currency Converter

2010-03-10T11:08:00.000-08:00

Workshop Materials

Here we go!

Museum Box Website

Newspaper outline

Have fun!

2010-03-08T09:10:00.000-08:00

SPELLAPALOOZA!

Come to SPELLAPALOOZA this Friday, March 12 at 7:30 in the Glenbard West High School Auditorium!

Spellapalooza is modeled after an old fashioned spelling bee that pits teams from local organizations and businesses against one another. As a fundraiser for the Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center, we would love your support.

The mission of the Resource Center is to provide life and literacy skills to low-income households in Glen Ellyn. GECRC provides tutoring at Abraham LIncoln Elementary School in all academic subjects, with an emphasis on educating students for whom English is a second language. We rely on the support of donations, grants and volunteers.

So join us this Friday and cheer on your friends. Following are the thirteen teams signed up so far:

*Abraham Lincoln Elementary School
*Glen Crest Middle School
*Hadley Jr. High School
*The Key Clubs from both Glenbard South and Glenbard West High Schools
*District 41 Central Services
*The Bookstore in downtown Glen Ellyn
*Bells and Whistles Snackery
*Glen Ellyn Jr. Woman’s Club
*First Congregational Church of Glen Ellyn Junior High Youth Group
*First Congregational Church of Glen Ellyn Senior High Youth Group
*The Glen Ellyn Public Library
*A group of women called “Spellin’ for Ellen”

Tickets for this evening of fun and spelling are only $5 and are available before the event at these downtown merchants - Bells and Whistles Snackery, the Renaissance Art Gallery, The Glen Ellyn Bookstore. Tickets will also be available at the door. So come join the fun!

2010-03-01T06:29:00.000-08:00

Mr. Zach is BACK with thoughts and words full of new ideas during your downtime when your fingers just want to click away...

How do you say that word? Igloo? (short i+glue)
Use this great website to help master words you can't quite remember how to say when your reading.

Prefixes are everywhere!
Remember Miss. Annie's anti-valentines day project? Anti is a prefix! What other word could I put in front of valentines day? Pro? Un? Pre? Practice making prefixes here!

It's Here!
The beauty of boogle and scrabble are now online for you to enjoy! See how fast you can make a list of words!

Boggle
Scrabble

What's up with suffixes?
Use this game to discover what words can be combined to make real words and which words, when combined, are not real words.

Dr. Z, Mrs. Jessica, and Captian Katie think you should write sentences with proper common usage.

Learn how to here!

Lets learn about nouns, adjectives and verbs.
A noun is a preson, place or thing.
A verb is an action word, like hit or run.
An adjective is a word that describes or modifys a person, place or thing, like tall, or happpy.

Use this website to practice which word is in the right category.

What do you mean it ran down her head?
Ran could mean someone running or something running down a persons face, across a paper, or a sidewalk.

Check out this cool game if you want to know more!

2010-02-11T03:15:00.000-08:00

Zach's Zany Web-Sites Just For YOU!

Games Zach suggests you should play every night before you go to sleep:

Learn English!

Create an Earthquake
Did you know we had an earthquake Tuesday night? In Illinois! Create an earthquake situation with this earthquake creation game. REMEMBER: Adjust the ground, prevention and magnitude, so that you can see the difference that each makes!

Spelling City
Type your spelling list for the week or get a challenging list of words from Mr.Zach. Click the green button (play a game). Choose word search, unscramble, or hang mouse.

Typing Practice Game - Easy/Medium/Hard
Yes, it is a mini clip game. I want YOU to practice using the home row keys on the keyboard. There are three settings (easy,medium, and hard).

2010-02-09T10:10:00.000-08:00

January 2010

What an amazing month we have had, and so quickly it passed! Here are a couple of photos from our first month of the year. Hope you enjoy!

2010-01-20T08:19:00.000-08:00

A+ websites - for the kids!

Following is a list of web-sites we have introduced to the students slowly over the past week. We're slowly beginning to encourage them to increase their awareness of amazing learning tools found on-line and use of them on a regular basis.

Enjoy looking through them and becoming familiar with them yourselves!

Typing Pac Man Game
The point of this game is to increase your understanding of where the letters on the keyboard are. The faster you can move around the keyboard, the better chance you have of not being eaten! (Grades 2-5)

Estimating Angles with a Monkey
You have to estimate the size of an angle in a circle. The closer you get to the actual answer, the more bananas you get. Can you get all 10 bananas?

Spelling. Flying. DANGER!
Type in your spelling words for the week or just challenging words and try to catch the letters in the word that float in the sky. Beware the flying birds and kangaroos that can hurt you and end the game!

Space. Water. Math. FUN!
If you like to play games and test your math facts, this is the game for you! After typing in the web address, choose either Jet Ski Addition or Outer Space Addition. THESE ARE THE TWO GAMES THAT ARENT BLOCKED. Both are great games to help you get faster at computing math problems!

Math is a snack….Hungry?
If you like to challenge yourself or make CERTAIN that you remember what you learned last year, this is the site for YOU! After typing in the web address, click demo on the side and find your grade level at the top of the page. There are ten different categories for each grade level. If one of them is too challenging, you can always choose a different category or choose a different grade level. End Joy? NEVER!

Choices Aplenty
This is another math website with lots of great math games to challenge your understanding of money (Counting Money, Exact Change), estimating (Which one Rounds?), and basic math computation (Arithmetick). *Don’t play hillbilly math.

What does that say?
Having trouble writing a number in word form? This site will help you practice the place value system. Beware though, the computer can translate up to sixty typed numbers into word form. For example: 3,456,234,876,347, 238,237, 247, 234, 233…

Create a Classic
Have you had an idea for a story, but not wanted to write all of it? Did you ever read a story that you kind of liked, but would change a few things? Well, this site can help you do that! The two stories, The Journey To Darkest Somewhere, and The House of Scary Words, allow you to write and illustrate part of the plot and characters. CREATE!

Typing Trouble?
Do you need practice typing, so that you can spend more time on the subject of your paper? I thought so! This website allows you to practice your hand positions on the keyboard, at different skill levels. There are five categories. I suggest you start at one, so that you know what will help you best. * You don’t have to give your email at the beginning, just click the X in the right corner.

Eye Oh Eye, Correct! Correct! (1)
Eye Oh Eye, Correct! Correct! (2)

If you aren’t sure what the difference between a noun and verb is, TRY the first game. Does your teacher circle certain spots in your writing? If so, you should check out the second game, to practice how to edit sentences that the computer wrote Incorrectly!

2010-01-14T23:30:00.000-08:00

SPELLAPALOOZA IS BACK!!!

It's back! SPELLAPALOOZA! will return this year in just two months - Friday night, March 12. Once again the event will be held in the Glenbard West auditorium and will feature last year's wonderful master of ceremonies, Don Schwenneker of CBS/Channel 2. If you were there last year, you already know how much fun the evening will be. If not, you missed a wildly exciting and very entertaining event that raised over $6,000.00 for the Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center. This year we're aiming for even bigger, better and more profitable! Therefore, we need your help!

Here are a few ways you can help:

Right now - Visit stores and businesses in town to sell ad space in our program and solicit door prizes to give away during the spelling bee. Printed materials and sample programs will be provided for you.

Follow up - We will need someone to go back around a week before the event to pick up door prizes, get them organized and then delivered to Glenbard West the afternoon of March 12th.

Two weeks before Spellapalooza - Between Friday, February 26th and Monday, March 1st we will need individuals to hang flyers advertising the event in store windows downtown. We also need someone creative who is suave with words to help write the script for the evening. We may have to make some changes so make sure your flexible bones are in gear and ready for spontaneous alternations!

March 12th - We need ushers = Take tickets, hand out programs, notepads, pencils, sell audience participation cards. There will be a brief meeting for ushers at Glenbard West on Thursday evening, March 11th to go over everything.

So let us know how you'd like to help! Spellapalooza is the primary means in which GECRC will be able to fund our summer program and the beginning of next year school year. If you want more info about what's involved in any of the above jobs, just ask! Please contact Kasey O'Connell at 630-545-9846 (home) or 630-605-7247 (cell) or kasey.oconnell@sbcglobal.net (email)

Thank you for all your support!

In Other News

There will be NO GECRC on Monday, January 18th due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

2010-01-14T23:28:00.000-08:00

Welcoming a New Year!

What a wonderful beginning to a hopeful new year! We at the Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center hope that each of you had a most wonderful Holiday Season. We look forward this year to not only welcoming the students back into the routine and learning experiences offered every day after school but also look forward to welcoming you, our amazing volunteers!

In reflecting upon this past year and all of the wonderful stages of growth we have embraced and thrived within, I am so deeply encouraged. I am consistently encouraged by the many university students we have welcomed over the year and look forward to welcoming more in the coming semesters. I am often in awe by the significant number of high school students who often put aside personal ambitions to serve and develop relationships with GECRC students. I am most often amazed at the men and women who make GECRC a part of their weekly schedule and are without flaw when you look at their consistent volunteer attendance. I cannot express enough how grateful I am for all of your committed time, energy and willingness to serve.

Still, the need for more consistent volunteers continues. As life changes, sport seasons happen, transitions occur and classes begin and end, GECRC continues to experience an on-going need for volunteers to serve our students each and every day. Although our long-term goal and hope is that we would be able to provide one-on-one service to each and every student, we are far from that goal and we need your help!

If you have any volunteer recommendations or ideas of how to rope in amazing volunteers who are keen on empowering students to succeed academically through after-school tutoring and cultural enrichment opportunities - we would LOVE to have them join us.

If you have any suggestions of how to better increase our communication with you- our most prized possession, we would love to know!

We look forward to hearing from each of you over the coming weeks and can't wait to welcome you back!

P.S. Classes begin today! Monday, January 4th at 3:30pm! A January calendar will be sent out in next weeks Volunteer E-Note with more information.

2009-12-15T10:25:00.000-08:00

A Time for Celebration

It's hard to believe that with only 4 days left of the 2009 school year, a new year is quickly approaching! We, at the GECRC continue to be so very grateful for your many hours of service, kindness, energy and attention you each have offered. Thank you for making this year one we can celebrate!

NaNoWriMo

Our field trip to Open Books in Chicago was a wonderful time to celebrate the significant writing accomplishments each student made over the month of November. We look forward to a continued time of celebration as we look forward to a new semester together. Thanks to each and every volunteer who joined us on Friday evening, your presence was invaluable and we are all so grateful for your willingness to join us.

Please take a look here for some great pictures from the evening!

December Newsletter

Please see our newly up-dated web-site for not only it's good looks but to take a look at the December Newsletter for details regarding what's been happening and what's coming up!

GECRC Holiday Celebration of Light

On Wednesday, December 16th from 5:00 – 6:00pm GECRC invites each and every child, family member and volunteer to celebrate this beautiful season of light with us!

When: Wednesday, December 16th
Where: Lincoln School, Library
Time: 5:00 – 6:00pm
What to Bring: A dish to pass
Who is Invited: All students, their families and volunteers

So mark it on your calendar, tell a friend, pass on the news, come and enjoy an evening with friends and family as we celebrate together this amazing semester of accomplishments and wonderful memories.

On Thursday, December 17th we look forward to celebrating the many holidays recognized throughout December with various activities to help bring us into the Holiday spirit of giving.

There will be NO Resource Center on Friday, December 18th due to a school SIP day.

We hope each of you enjoy this beautiful holiday season. We are all so very grateful for all the time and kindness you offer the children of GECRC and look forward to welcoming you in the New Year!

2009-12-01T06:05:00.000-08:00

GECRC Pre-Thanksgiving Feast

Over 70 students, volunteers and staff joined together for a pre-Thanksgiving feast in Lincoln School's library. All together we were treated to a wonderful holiday meal that included 2 turkeys, 20 lbs. of potatoes, 10 lbs. or corn, 10 lbs. of green beans, two sheet cakes of corn bread, two HUGE trays of delicious stuffing, cranberry sauce and more!

During the meal played a slideshow of our time together over this past year showing various memories and events that we are all thankful for.

What was special about this year, and has become a regular tradition of our program, is that more and more students are taking part in the cooking and preparing process. Cooking offers great academic lessons - math, real life situations, problem solving, teamwork. The students we work with are at a great age because they are able to start cooking, enjoy the process and understand fractions and know how to times a recipe.

This is one of the three opportunities GECRC students have been asked to take on a big catering task. First for International Night where students from Nepal, Egypt, Mexico & Burma prepared dishes from their cultural tradition for all to taste. A few weeks later many students gathered together to prepare three winter soups for lunch the following day to show our appreciation for the Lincoln Staff and all they do.

We thank each and every one of you who made our pre-Thanksgiving feast a memory that will last. From the joy you brought to each table, the service you offered in serving food or the sweet treats you provided for dessert. We are all so thanksful for each and every one of you!

2009-11-24T06:42:00.000-08:00

By Request -

Initially, I was not planning to post this Thanksgiving week. Yet, I have made a big mistake and need to reconcile it.

Last night as the GECRC students, staff and volunteers were planning for our big Thanksgiving Feast to happen this coming Wednesday (November 25th) the students began to ask what volunteers would be coming to join us. It was at this time that it occurred to me that I had not intentionally extended an invitation for you to join our celebration. I simply had to look each of the students in the eyes and share that I had not invited any volunteers to feast with us. By the looks on their faces, I had committed a serious crime. I couldn't have agreed more. Therefore -

*****

It is by the request of the students at the Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center
You, our wonderful volunteers, are invited to our Thanksgiving Feast
Wednesday, November 25th at 5:00pm
Abraham Lincoln School library

GECRC students will be making cornbread, stuffing, turkey, corn,
mashed potatoes and green beans.

Each of you are welcome to join us as we demonstrate and share gratitude with each other.
You are also welcome to bring a dish to share
but by no means have to as we know this is extremely late notice.
We would just love to have you join us!

- GECRC Students

*****

2009-11-23T06:38:00.000-08:00

A Simple Thanks.

Come Celebrate Gratitude with Us

As we enter into a week of celebrating thankfulness we, at Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center, wanted to extend our gratitude for what each of you bring to the Resource Center each and every day. We are so grateful for your energy, time and attention. You make the Resource Center happen and the children smile. Thank you!

Many of you have asked what our schedule looks like next week in light of the holiday. GECRC will be open on Monday (11/23), Tuesday (11/24) and Wednesday (11/25). We will operate as usual on Monday & Tuesday and invite you to celebrate a season of gratitude with us on Wednesday!

If your days of volunteering fall on Thursday or Friday, please consider joining us earlier on in the week! We would LOVE to have you!

2009-11-16T06:42:00.000-08:00

As the GECRC students like to say:

Volunteers Rock!

Best Volunteers Ever!

Last week I wrote a little blub regarding my gratitude for our ever-growing volunteer efforts on behalf of the students served at GECRC. Yet, after reflecting this past week with GECRC Board of Directors I am convinced that GECRC does in fact have the best volunteers ever.

Do you realize that with our efforts combined we supplied over 60 students with Halloween Costumes?

Can you believe that together we have helped increase community awareness and as a result our book donations have sky-rocketed? At this time we have over 60 boxes of donated books in our storage ready to give away!

Believe it or not - with just one request, we have had over eight individuals volunteer to assist with the Holiday Giving Program (See more details below)!

Would you have ever imagined this time last year that because the number of volunteers has increased, so has our ability to serve more kids? Within the next two weeks, we are looking forward to welcoming four new students from Burma & Nepal!

And what gets me even more excited - the kids served through GECRC LOVE coming each and every day! We are receiving more and more reports from parents of how their children are reading more at home and comments from teachers that student's math and writing skills are increasing. The students of GECRC are finding more joys and success in learning because of you and we could not do it without you. Thank you!

Shop Till Ya' Drop & Help A Neighbor

Opportunity One:

On Thursday, December 3, 2009 GECRC will receive a portion of every sale from 5:00pm to 8:00pm at Ten Thousand Villages, located at 499 Pennsylvania Ave., Glen Ellyn, IL.

While shopping you will have the opportunity to do three great things for your community in one stop! Not only will you purchase high quality gifts for your friends and family, you will also be supporting over 130 artisan groups in more than 38 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America that bring you fair trade jewelry, home decor, gifts and more. As one of the world's oldest and largest fair trade organizations, Ten Thousand Villages builds long-term relationships with artisans that are based on mutual understanding and respect.

While supporting Ten Thousand Villages and it's mission, by shopping on the evening of December 3rd, you will also be supporting GECRC in our efforts to increase our funding and ability to serve more children in Glen Ellyn in need of academic, literacy and life skills support! What an amazing opportunity to increase the quality of life not only for those around the world but for those within your own community!

Opportunity Two:

District 41's Community Outreach Committee has teamed up with Glen Ellyn's new Family Tree Resale store to provide clothing vouchers to District 41 children in need of clothing. In exchange for donations of clothes, toys, household items and furniture (they will pick up!), Family Tree Resale will provide store vouchers to District 41 Social Workers - they will distribute these vouchers to needy families requesting help. Please consider using Family tree Resale when donating your gently used items and make sure your bags/boxes/large items are clearly labeled "District 41". You'll find Family Tree Resale at 575 Roosevelt Road in the Market Plaza shopping center (the Jewel/Staples mall). Family Tree Resale is charity-based, but is not a not-for-profit and does not provide tax receipts. For more information, please contact Community Outreach member Peg Mickelson at (pmickelson@wowway.com).

NANOWRIMO

We're still moving forward with our goal to collectively attempt to write 50,000 words in 30 days. (Yes, we did indeed say 50,000.) Yes, we are finding that this is a huge mountain of writing to climb, and yes, there are piles of crumpled paper and an ocean of eraser bits settling over the resource center, but we continue to have no doubt in our minds that we can complete this! To lessen the impending deadline (Nov. 30th!) we continue to need your help! We are finding that when each student has a patient, talented and, most importantly, encouraging volunteer by their side, their confidence increases, words, plots, characters and ideas fly off their tongue into their hand and through their pencils! It's been a beautiful process to watch and take part in. All of this to say - our students benefit the most when they can work one-on-one with volunteers, and your help with this undertaking is no exception. So grab some pencils, turn on your imaginations, and get ready to help our students tackle the NaNoWriMo beast, one word at a time.

For more information on what NaNoWriMo is all about, visit http://www.nanowrimo.org/

We hope each of you are enjoying these beautiful autumn afternoons! We look forward to seeing you soon!

2009-11-11T09:56:00.001-08:00

Celebrating Gratitude

Best Volunteers Ever!

I am convinced that the Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center volunteers, donors, partners, and members of the literacy team at large are the best! Keep up the STUPENDOUS work everyone - you are making such a difference!

Holiday Giving Program Volunteer Opportunity

Each year, the District 41 Community Outreach Committee participates in the Holiday Giving Program with the Glen Ellyn Juniors to provide holiday gifts for our District 41 children and families in need. The Community Outreach Committee solicits donations from our school families to provide personal hygiene products, grocery store gift cards, Target/Kohl's gift cards, toys and books to our families, including all of the families of the GECRC children.

The Committee will need help with the organizing the gifts (making sure each family has the correct gifts/cards and boxing gifts for delivery). The organizing part of this will take place in mid-December (date to be determined) during the day and into the evening, as necessary. We will also need help with delivery of the gifts to the families. This will take place on a Saturday morning in December, quite possibly December 12th. Volunteers can choose to sign up for one or both of these activities and can give as little or as much time as they are able.

If you are interested in volunteering or have any questions please contact Karen Evans at Supplies4Success@gmail.com.

NANOWRIMO

This past week GECRC students will be joining 20,000 other students in a quest to write The Great Elementary School Novel. For the entire month of November, our young authors will be participating in National Novel Writing Month's Young Writers Program challenge. Collectively, 34 of our students will attempt to write 50,000 words in 30 days. (Yes, we did indeed say 50,000.) Yes, this is a huge mountain of writing to climb, and yes, there will be piles of crumpled paper and an ocean of eraser bits settling over the resource center next month, but do we have any doubt in our minds that our students can complete this? Nope! To lessen the shock of this, though, (because, yes, their mouths are going to be on the floor when we give them this task), we need your help! We need your patience, your talent, and, most importantly, your encouragement to help show this challenge who's boss. Our students benefit the most when they can work one-on-one with volunteers, and your help with this undertaking is no exception. So grab some pencils, turn on your imaginations, and get ready to help our students tackle the NaNoWriMo beast, one word at a time.

For more information on what NaNoWriMo is all about, visit http://www.nanowrimo.org/

We hope each of you are enjoying these beautiful autumn afternoons! We look forward to seeing you soon!

2009-11-02T08:49:00.000-08:00

Celebrate Goolish Times!

huge - Big - ENORMOUS thanks to each of you who helped us celebrate an evening filled with words games, creative writing, crafts, baking, and LOTS of laughter this past Friday during our annual Halloween Gala!

We cannot thank you enough for your support as we watched each and every child served find their secret identity for one day in the simplicity of a special costume, crafts and word activities that will allowed their creativity to fly.

This week: GECRC will not be holding our after school program this Wednesday (11/4), Thursday (11/5) or Friday (11/6) due to Parent/Teacher Conferences and Teacher Institute Days.

2009-11-02T07:56:00.000-08:00

GECRC 2009 Halloween Gala

2009-10-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

So Much To Say...

NANOWRIMO

In less than one week, GECRC students will be joining 20,000 other students in a quest to write The Great Elementary School Novel. For the entire month of November, our young authors will be participating in National Novel Writing Month's Young Writers Program challenge. Collectively, 34 of our students will attempt to write 50,000 words in 30 days. (Yes, we did indeed say 50,000.) Yes, this is a huge mountain of writing to climb, and yes, there will be piles of crumpled paper and an ocean of eraser bits settling over the resource center next month, but do we have any doubt in our minds that our students can complete this? Nope! To lessen the shock of this, though, (because, yes, their mouths are going to be on the floor when we give them this task), we need your help! We need your patience, your talent, and, most importantly, your encouragement to help show this challenge who's boss. Our students benefit the most when they can work one-on-one with volunteers, and your help with this undertaking is no exception. So grab some pencils, turn on your imaginations, and get ready to help our students tackle the NaNoWriMo beast, one word at a time.

For more information on what NaNoWriMo is all about, visit http://www.nanowrimo.org/

Volunteer Training
Have you ever wondered what more you could do with the students at GECRC? We've all been there. It's 5:00pm and the students you're paired with have completed their homework, read and walked through the
book with you, played an Everyday Math game and are asking the big question - "what's next?".

Wonder no longer! On October 29th from 6:10-7:10pm we will be holding a Volunteer Training to go over the various tools utilized at GECRC each and every day. Our hope is that through this training we will empower each of you to utilize the teaching tools we have in place to make the best of your and the student's time each afternoon.

Topics will include:

1. Taking a tour of the teaching manipulatives GECRC uses each day
2. Reviewing our new assessment tool which gives great suggestions of games to play in areas each student needs to grow
3. Walking through the GECRC Student Reading and Writing Notebook

We truly hope you will consider joining us this evening as we learn together how to better serve the students at GECRC. Snacks will be provided! Please RSVP by Oct. 27th with Jessica Rozga.

Spooky, Scary, Frightened Little Princesses?

You got it! We made it! You did it! With over 100 costumes collected over the last 30 days we are dying to dig through, dive in and play around in costumes piled over our heads! We cannot thank you enough for the gift you gave each of us to be able to watch each and every child served find their secret identity for one day in the simplicity of a special costume that will allow them to fly, grant wishes, or demonstrate special powers for one day.

Halloween Gala!

In the spirit of the little goblins and playing dress up and celebrating the art of pretending together, Friday, October 30th from 3:45 - 6:00pm GECRC will host a pumpkin smashing party! Filled with words games, creative writing, crafts, baking, and LOTS of laughter we welcome each and every one of you to join us!

Again - THIS Friday, October 30th from 3:45-6:00pm - We'll see you there...

2009-10-29T05:19:00.000-07:00

The first couple of weeks in October.

2009-10-16T05:08:00.000-07:00

Calling All Goblins & Fairies, Volunteers & Writing Enthusiasts

Halloween Is Sneaking Up!

We sent out a request and many of your have responded! With over 15 costumes gathered over the past weeks we are anxiously looking forward with expectation for more costumes to come our way...

We continue to ask each of you to consider donating a costume (or two) for a student served at GECRC! With 65 students ranging between Kindergarten and 8th grade we are in need of many more costumes to fit all students, both tall and short, boys and girls, pirates and princesses, bugs and batmans! Costumes for student grades 4-5 are in the highest demand at this time.

P.S. We hear that Goodwill & Salvation Army have brand new costumes for sale at a significantly reduced price!

Please help us make this tradition a possibility by donating new or gently used costumes to GECRC. Donations may be dropped off at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School between 2:30-6:15pm, Monday - Friday.

Volunteer Training

Have you ever wondered what more you could do with the students at GECRC? We've all been there. It's 5:00pm and the students you're paired with have completed their homework, read and walked through the book with you, played an Everyday Math game and are asking the big question - "what's next?".

Wonder no longer! On October 29th from 6:10-7:10pm we will be holding a Volunteer Training to go over the various tools utilized at GECRC each and every day. Our hope is that through this training we will empower each of you to utilize the teaching tools we have in place to make the best of your and the student's time each afternoon.

Topics will include:

1. Taking a tour of the teaching manipulatives GECRC uses each day
2. Reviewing our new assessment tool which gives great suggestions of games to play and areas in which each student needs to grow

3. Walking through the GECRC Student Reading and Writing Notebook

We truly hope you will consider joining us this evening as we learn together how to better serve the students at GECRC. Snacks will be provided! Please RSVP by Oct. 27th with Jessica Rozga.

International Night
Come and celebrate the varied and diverse culture represented by the families of our community. Over 15 students from GECRC will be participating in Lincoln School's 4th International Night from 7:00-8:30pm on Friday, October 23rd.

The event will provide an opportunity to share the rich cultural heritage of Lincoln School's children and parents. Plan on viewing cultural artifacts and native costumes as well as sampling traditional foods or doing a craft from the many countries represented by families within Lincoln School.

Just Because I Cannot See It, Doesn’t Mean I Can’t Believe It!
Dates: October 14th, 19th, 21st, and 26th
Details: If you would love to help children get their fantastic imagination out of their mind and into the eyes of others, this may be the workshop for you. Using Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas as inspiration, you will get the chance to help students create thier very own Halloween town. Whether your imagination is scary, terrifying, or bone-chilling, you can help our students through the basics of city creation and construction so that they too can be a King or Queen of Halloween!

2009-09-24T05:28:00.000-07:00

Students & Celebrations

Halloween is coming!
As many of you know, a long standing tradition at GECRC is taking part in the schools Halloween parade and then enjoying an afternoon full of scary and spooky activities with each other during after-school hours. With this tradition comes many hours of costume gathering, fitting, preparation, and planning.

In order for the students served at GECRC to have this opportunity once more we are in need of volunteers who have a passion for dressing up like ghosts and searching for princesses to join us and take charge of organizing costume distribution to make sure all students are equipped with wands and swords in hand for this coming Halloween.

We are also asking each of you to consider donating a costume for a student served at GECRC! With over 65 students ranging between Kindergarten and 8th grade we are in need of many more costumes to fit all students, both tall and short, boys and girls, pirates and princesses, bugs and batmans!

Please help us make this tradition a possibility by donating new or gently used costumes to GECRC. Donations may be dropped off at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School between 2:30-6:15pm, Monday - Friday.

New Students
It's hard to believe that we have finally hit our maximum capacity of students! With just over 65 students officially registered and seeking services with GECRC we are all looking forward to a wonderful year together!

This week please welcome eight new students, five of whom are students who recently came from Thailand (refugees of Burma).

We are all thrilled that each student has joined us and hope you can join us in making the transition to the US and Lincoln School a peaceful and enjoyable one for all!

We look forward to seeing each of you this coming week as we celebrate new volunteers, continued learning and active teamwork!

2009-09-14T11:21:00.000-07:00

GECRC Writing Workshops – September and October 2009

Do you have an insane appreciation for creative writing? Is your need to volunteer even more insane? Combine the two at the Glen Ellyn Children’s Resource Center and prepare to amaze us (by your amazing volunteer skills) and be amazed (by our equally amazing students)!

If you want to participate in any or all of these workshops, pick up a volunteer form now or visit www.gecrc.org

Zine Machines
Dates: September 16th, 23rd, and 30th Details: Do you love writing, but don’t know how to get people to read it? Do you love to make art, but don’t like getting yelled at for making a big mess? Lucky for you, we’re here to help, and all it takes are some DIY (that’s do-it-yourself) skills and a need to zine. Don’t know what a zine is? Don’t know how to put one together? Don’t worry! Zines are self-published magazines, and this workshop will take you through the basics of zine production, story writing, and the art of cutting and pasting. At the end, you will walk out a zine master with your own personal zine, as well as a collection featuring your fellow zine-sters’ work.

Turn to Page 23: Create a Choose Your Own Adventure Story
Dates: September 14th, 21st, and 28th Details: If you enjoy adventure stories chock full of peril, suspense, and risky antics, grab a pencil. If you want to be the one in charge, to hold the fate of others in the palm of your hand, put your pencil on the dotted line. If you are an amazing writer who doesn’t need to know exactly how a story will end, sign your name like you’ve never signed it before! This workshop will consist of two parts: a sampling of what it’s like to be in a Choose Your Own Adventure story, as well as a chance to work with your classmates, and the opportunity for you to be the ultimate boss with your own CYOA masterpiece.

Just Because I Cannot See It, Doesn’t Mean I Can’t Believe It!
Dates: October 5th and 7th (we will watch The Nightmare Before Christmas), 12th, 14th, 19th, and 21st Details: If you have trouble getting your fantastic imagination out of your mind and into the eyes of others, this may just be the workshop for you. Using Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas as your inspiration, you will get the chance to create your very own Halloween town. Whether your imagination is scary, terrifying, or bone-chilling, you will be taken through the basics of city creation and construction so that you too can be a King or Queen of Halloween!

I Spent a Month Writing and All I Got Was This Novel
Dates: TBD (An informational meeting will be held on October 26th.) Details: For the entire month of November, you will be joining 22,000 other students in a spectacular attempt at creating the Great Frantic Novel! Wait, what? Great? Frantic? Novel? No, that is not a typo. In this workshop, you will be participating in National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWiMo (say that three times fast)! NaNoWiMo’s goal is to get you to complete a novel in 30 days, no more, no less, and, most importantly, no joke. Join us in our quest to tackle this monstrous challenge one fantastic sentence at a time!

2009-08-05T05:48:00.000-07:00

GECRC After-School Program is Quickly Approaching!

It's hard to believe that school will soon begin! Beginning August 26th at 3:15pm GECRC will kick-off our after-school program and are looking forward to a great year together full of engaged, active and consistent learning that will build on the educational practices exercised this summer.

As we begin our after-school programming we look forward to also increasing our communication with each of you, our valuable volunteers! In an effort to do so, everyday as the students will be having their afternoon snack and engaging in read-alouds, I look forward to meeting with each of you as a group for up to 15 mins. to discuss the afternoon ahead, what the plans are for the day, answer any questions you may have and build on the teamwork that is already beginning to grow! This is all with the hopes that together we will be able to give the students the consistency needed for them to succeed!

In addition, as you prepare for this school year and plan your time with the students I encourage you to look at your calendar to plan for what days and times best work for you to work with the students at GECRC. As many of us know, volunteer relationships are the primary reason that many of the students come to GECRC each and every day. When volunteer attendance in consistent, we find that the students find more success in their school work and through reading and writing workshops! Your presence is the key to the student's success and desire to keep learning! Please consider joining us this year and continue making a difference in the lives of the students we serve.

We truly look forward to an amazing school year full of celebrations as well as stories of success and laughter. Please consider joining us this coming school year as we look forward to sharing these moments with you! If you have any questions, please feel free to send an e-mail to director@gecrc.org.

2009-07-30T05:47:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that the five weeks of the GECRC Summer Program has come to an end. With over 85 students served throughout the summer I continue to be amazed at the time, energy, and hands that made this summer the success that it was!

I want to thank each of you, GECRC volunteers, for all of your hard work. From helping assist in the initial setting up, to participating in the daily routine, events, workshops, and learning labs. We could not have done any of these things without you. Your presence is what continues to engage each and every student and encourage them in their ability to find success in everything they do. The student's at GECRC come because of their relationships with you and for that, we are so grateful to have welcomed you each and every day.

I want to also thank all of the staff and first-ever GECRC interns - Rebekah Fischer, Annie Kennedy, Vickie Svazas, Jake Rodriguez, Katie Galli, Zach Pehta, Phillip Payton and Kathleen Nannenhorn. This summer would not have been the success it was without the extra time, effort, and energy you poured into your classrooms each and every day. This summer is a success because you demonstrated your care for each child's education through your actions and attention to each student's individual education and social needs. Each student learned a ton and if their smiles were any indication of their enjoyment, they had fun doing so!

A BIG thank you to the support staff and program contributors - Diana Ponce-Krupa for engaging life skills; Kathy Schmidt for exciting guided reading; Coach John Dagger for energizing P.E; WDSRA for the fun nutrition and exercises classes; DuPage Health Department for lessons on hygiene; Officer Staples from the Glen Ellyn Police Department for engaging conversations on safety and bullying; Glen Ellyn Public Library for your enless hours of literacy exercises that stretched us and help us connect to literature in a new and exciting way; Glen Ellyn Parks & Rec. for the many hours of afternoon swimming and providing beautiful parks for community nature walks; People's Resource Center Summer Science for over 20 hours of active math and science labs; Willowbrook for a wonderful afternoon of learning about animals and nature; People's Resouce Center Art for fun art activites; University of Illinois 4-H Extension for an afternoon of Gettin' Buggy; Norman B. Barr Camp for treating 14 students and two chaperons to a week of camping in Lake Geneva, WI; Victory Soccer Camp, Glen Ellyn Bible Church, Glen Ellyn Covenant and Glen Ellyn Presbyterian for a great week of summer soccer and lesson in teamwork; Bells & Whistles Snackery for four delicious and healthy lunches each week; Little Ceasars for a fun pizza lunch each Tuesday; and Abraham Lincoln Elementary School for all of your support and behind the scenes work.

I feel as though I could write a page of praise and stories from each of your contributions over the summer and feel speechless when I think of all the time and energy each of you placed into each child's experience this summer.

Having all of your help made my job much easier. Thanks to each of you for all that you did for the GECRC Summer Program - 2009.

As we continue to reflect on this summer's program we would love to hear and start collecting your stories from the summer. Whether it's one paragraph, one sentence, on page - we would love to hear about a specific story or experience you had this summer when working with the students.

Please keep in touch over the next month as we prepare for the after-school program and look forward to a new year of increased partnerships with each of you. We look forward to welcoming you back beginning Wednesday, August 26th and look forward to assisting you in helping each child build and find success during the school year.

Stay connected by continuing to visit the GECRC Blog and joining the GECRC facebook group!

We hope you're enjoying these beautiful summer days we look forward to hearing from you soon!