Congratulations...

On November 19th 2008, DC Learns held their annual awards ceremony.  Yolanda Smoot was nominated for the Oustanding Adult Learner Award and Ed Prendergast received the Literacy Volunteer Award.

 (More -- Click "DC Learns Awards" above.)

Many Thanks ...

Jonathon Blauvelt and Christopher Allison have been helping Living Wages since September as they prepare for two years of service in Papua New Guinea as Capuchin-Franciscan Cap-Corps volunteers.

(More -- Click "Franciscan Mission Service" above.)

On a steamy summer day, several Living Wages staff and volunteers accompanied students to the National Mall to attend the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival. While attendance at the festival fulfilled an academic requirement, it also fulfilled another important requirement, FUN. We were surrounded by the sights and sounds of three cultural regions, South East Asia, Northern Ireland and Virginia. We listened to the African inspired music that arrived in Virginia through the slave trade and which help spring more contemporary forms of Folk music. There was an opportunity for one of the students to get up on stage and dress in authentic West African clothing. She presided over her royal court, as an Ashanti Queen. This was the highlight of the trip, which also included performances from Thailand and Northern Ireland, as well as a variety of ethic food and drinks. It was a great opportunity for us all to get out of the classroom and visit South East Asia, Northern Ireland, and Virginia while staying in our own back yard. 

On July 14^th 2007, Living Wages staff, volunteers and guests gathered to celebrate the graduation of 38 EDP and GED graduates. 30 graduates participated in the ceremony, bringing along their families and friends to share in this special moment. (More - Click "Title" above)

Aaron Colbert, an 18-year old learner at Living Wages,  was a semi-finalist at the 2007 Women’s History Essay Contest.  A reception and reading was held on Tuesday, April 17 at the True Reformer Building in Washington, DC.  Jointly sponsored by the Adult Literacy Resource Center and  D.C. LEARNs, this year's theme was “Hold Fast to Dreams: Dreaming for Ourselves and Others.”   With the  role models of women such as Sojourner Truth and Mae Jemison, who instilled hope and courage through their dreams for themselves and others, students were asked to write about their own dreams and hopes for the future. Aaron’s essay, entitled “Dreams For Myself and Others,” is reprinted in the next screen by clicking on the above title.