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Heart
House Austin
October 2006
Note:
If you have problems viewing the graphics included in this email,
a copy of this e-newsletter can be seen online at http://www.hearthouse.org/newsletter.htm
In
this issue:
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What's
New?
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Heart House Superstar: Kid of the Month
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Compassion's in Fashion!
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Happy Anniversary, Diane Cannon!
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Our
Program: This Month's Theme
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Photo
Scrapbook: Our Favorite Shots from Last Month
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Heart
House Angels: Friends and Supporters Who Make Our Program Possible
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Volunteer
Spotlight: Anagha Nayate
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Volunteer
Opportunities
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Major
Heart House Sponsors
Keepin’ it in the Family!
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This school year we welcome two new program leaders to the Heart House
staff. Meredith Meisetschlaeger and Richard Geffen have both joined us
this fall as volunteers-turned-staff—a very awesome quality among our
staff!
Meredith is the leader for 2nd and 3rd grade. She currently attends
University of Texas at Austin. Meredith has a great personality and
calmness, which fits in perfectly when working with about 20 hyperactive
elementary kids daily. She was here every day during our summer program
and was never afraid to get her feet wet from day one, which won her our
Volunteer of the Month for July!
Richard joins us as a program leader every Friday for our Fun Friday
events such as celebrating birthdays and holidays! Richard volunteered
this summer as our music guru, providing students with unique musical
learning experiences through arts and crafts and his own guitar playing
gifts. In addition, he was actually featured in last month’s Volunteer
Spotlight for his dedication, motivation, and true interest in
furthering the Heart House program.
Over 250 volunteers give up their time throughout the year to assist the
Heart House program. Whether it’s homework, snack, curriculum, or play
time—these volunteers dedicate their time free of charge to make a
difference in our program and the lives of children. Their contributions
make our world go ‘round. We are so lucky when our volunteers decide
they want to become an even closer part of our family by joining our
staff. This year, all four of our program leaders began their work at
Heart House as volunteers! And whether they were volunteers several
months ago or several years ago, it only proves that Heart House is a
place where people choose to stay, grow, and make a difference.
Monica Armendariz
Program Director
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Rosie is an outstanding student at Heart
House and Andrews Elementary. She first joined Heart House this summer
when she moved to Austin with her mother and three sisters. She is in
the fourth grade and excels in math, which she also enjoys very much.
She would like to teach 7th grade math later in life! When asked to
describe herself in one word, she replies, “silly.” She definitely has a
bright and cheerful personality that she shares with everyone at Heart
House.
In addition, she is also extremely mature and responsible for her age,
taking care of two younger sisters and helping out around the house. Her
family is very important to her because they are close, caring, and
always doing nice things for each other. You can always find her
watching out and helping her younger sisters Katy and Tina and it is
easy to tell that she cares for their safety very much. She is a great
role model!
Her program leader chose her as the student of the month for her focus
and dedication to school work, her helpful attitude among peers and
adults, and her pleasant personality. We are so excited she is a part of
Heart House and congratulate her on her academic and personal successes!
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It’s amazing how much difference a tee can make. To date, J.
Jill has donated more than $315,000 from sales of their
cotton
compassion tee to the J. Jill Compassion Fund. Heart
House is honored to be one of the recipients of the
Compassion Fund and to have one of our staff members named
as a Woman of Compassion.
Although $1 from the sale of every compassion tee is donated
to the J. Jill Compassion Fund, it’s the programs—and the
Women of Compassion behind them—that are truly helping to
make a difference. And that's our Zeljka there on the far
left in the picture below!
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Happy Fourth Anniversary,
Diane! Diane Cannon
has served as the Executive Director for Heart House Austin for
four years as of this October, and we are so fortunate to have
such a dedicated, passionate leader.
Diane Cannon
has been an afterschool professional for 14 years, humbly and
diligently creating opportunities for low-income youth in Austin
to learn and thrive.
Diane Cannon
joined the Heart House team in October 2002. Under her
direction, Heart House has become an important focus of the
community center.
Under her direction, Heart House has met or exceeded
ALL program evaluation goals for 4 years in a row, including:
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0% of
Heart House children were victims of violent crime or
engaged in juvenile delinquency.
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Children
were well-supervised: The average daily adult to child ratio
was 1 adult to every 4.6 children.
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Teachers
believe 74% of Heart House children have shown an
improvement in behavior with adults and other children at
school.
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96% of
parents report that they have seen their child exhibit
positive and productive interactions at home since attending
Heart House.
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96% of
parents believe their children are doing better academically
because Heart House offers homework hour and reading time
every day.
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Teachers
agree, and report that 81% of Heart House children have
shown an improvement in quality and frequency of homework
turned in.
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100% of
Heart House children improved their reading level by at
least one level or improved their TAKS reading scores.
Before
joining Heart House, Diane was an emerging leader in afterschool.
Previously, she had worked for Austin Independent School
District with the Community Education Department for 10 years.
During this time, she served as one of the first program
coordinators for the 21st Century Learning Center at Dobie
Middle School for 500+ youth. She designed and implemented
classes that offered homework assistance and enrichment, as well
as a summer camp program. In addition, she implemented family
opportunities for night classes in English as a Second Language,
computer and safety classes.
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October’s Theme: “Children Around the
World”
What are children’s lives like around the globe? Heart House children
will delve and discover the diversity of childhood from North America to
Asia. They will learn about a variety of cultures, customs, and
traditions that make up other children’s lives and they will also
recognize what makes their own lives unique in the process. Students
will follow other children through their school days-learn about other
kids’ hobbies, birthday celebrations, and homes.
This month, children will also have the special opportunity to
communicate with other kids their age in other countries through an
online Pen Pal Classroom community. During weekly computer lab time,
they can share questions, thoughts, and learn more about their pen pals
through e-mail and online photos of their friends and classrooms. This
will be a wonderful way for them to talk (almost instantly) with
children all over the world! They’ll also discuss how children can be
heroic in their thoughts, actions, and long-lasting impressions on
communities.
Our theme will end in community service project planning
where Heart House children will determine what they would like to do to
assist children with special needs in their area, surrounding
communities, or globally.
We are also seeking family or community members who would like to come
in and share their childhood experiences, traditions and family life.
Please contact us if you would like to visit with our children this
month!
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We'd
like to thank this month's sponsor, the
J.Jill Compassion Fund.
Heart House Austin and Heart
House Dallas were fortunate to receive a $15,000 grant to
provide
services in both cities. To date, J. Jill has donated more
than $315,000 from sales of their
cotton
compassion tee to the J. Jill Compassion Fund.
Thank you, J.Jill!
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 Because
Heart House is always free to the children it
serves, we depend on contributions from supporters
like you. On average, Heart House spends about $8
a day per youth. Afterschool programs like Heart
House are a proven delinquency prevention method
-- and one of the best bargains in America.
Won't you make an investment in a child this year?
You can securely enter
your online donation using your credit card through our partnership with
Groundspring.org. You may choose to give a one-time donation or a
recurring monthly or annual donation. Your information is kept
private and secure, and will not be shared nor sold.
If
you'd rather donate via mail or fax, simply download one of the forms below.
Donation
to Heart House
Austin (PDF
Document)
Donation
to Heart House
Austin (Word
Document)
Here
are some of our favorite images from the last month:
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Abel, Jose,
Fransisca, and Lidely pull weeds from the garden in preparation
for new vegetable planting.
Lidely’s
pepper earrings!
Adin and Pedro take a break during
homework time to practice spelling their names in sign language.
Making ice cream in a bag
Ashlee and Jaylin
Kyndle and
Staci take turns shaking their bag to make ice cream during a
special day of Girl Scout activities.
Anthony
concentrates hard on his mask during a Fun Friday sponsored by
Dell. |
Destanie,
Makayla, and guest Girl Scout troupe members
Francisca
and Diana
Scarlet, Katy,
and Malcolm play “Pass the Pumpkin” during a Dell-sponsored Fun
Friday.
Dell
volunteers help children play “Pin the Stem on the Pumpkin”
during Fun Friday.
Dell
volunteers help students create fun masks during Fun Friday.
Nene is
excited to see the giant birthday cake that Dell has brought to
celebrate September birthdays! |
Thank
you to our many donors and friends who donated funds, time, and talent
to our organization this month! For
more information on donating to Heart House, please visit our website at
http://www.hearthouse.org/donate.htm.
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New and Continuing Donors:
IBM Corporation
Amy Wilson
Diane Cannon
Jeremy Odell
Andy Land
Sun Microsystems Foundation
Lucy and Vernon Wright
Jeannie MacArthur
Stacy Ehrlich
Nancy Collins
Ritika Gunnar
Emeka Obianwu
Sandra and Jeffrey Rice
IBM Corporation
Stacy Ehrlich
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Special thanks to:
Girl Scout Lone Star Council
Delta Sigma Theta
Omega Phi Alpha
Dell “One Community” Volunteers
Ann Schwartz and her sociology class from Concordia University
Latin American Health Professions at UT
Green Corn Project
Texas Iron Spikes
And also:
Thank you to Shawn Hohnstreiter for building our new reception
desk, which makes our check-in and check-out so much easier!
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Currently we're seeking volunteers for:
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Tutoring
time M-Th
3:00-4:30 PM
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Activities
Time M-Th
4:30-6:00
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Corporate
Groups
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Birthday
Parties- Fridays
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Guest
Speakers and Mentors
Fill
out an online application for Austin today!
Volunteer orientations
take
place at Heart
House. Once our volunteer coordinator receives your
online application, she will call you to arrange a personal orientation of
Heart House.
Upcoming
orientations at Heart House:
For
more information on volunteering at Heart House Austin, contact Shana
Fox, Volunteer
Coordinator, 512-929-8187.
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Anagha Nayate is not only fabulous with
the Heart House children, she helps keep
the program running smoothly "behind the
scenes." Her positive attitude and
dedication has been a gift for the
volunteer program at Heart House.
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