The North Central Indiana Professional Chapter received a $1,000 Literacy Alive! grant this year to complete its 2008 Spring program. The chapter has been working with the Concord Neighborhood Center, which serves families that are at or below 50 percent of poverty and also can be categorized as the working poor. Given such low income, it is difficult for the families at the Center to have access to books in the evenings, so this KDP chapter has been meeting with the children to promote the importance of reading. Statistics state that a child must be read at least 1,000 books before he or she can read without assistance. Also, studies have shown that children lose interest in books around the fourth grade.

During each visit at the Center, book selections are read and a short craft or activity is completed based on the child’s age. For example, Dr. Seuss activities may be completed with the younger students while the older students enjoy a readers’ theater selection based on books written by Christopher Paul Curtis. Due to the length of the young adult books, activities for older students are based on their favorite book and a short readers’ theater or introduction of the noted author is presented. Book selections from each one of the noted authors are donated to the Center. Once the books are donated, the children are able to check out the books overnight to take home and read with their parents. So far, the program has been successful, and the Concord Neighborhood Center is grateful for the help and support.

The chapter’s Literacy Alive! grant was among 59 awarded (at various dollar amounts) to KDP chapters this year, under the sponsorship of Verizon. To apply for next year’s grant monies, chapters must submit proposals in early December. Visit the Literacy Alive! page on the KDP Web site for more information.

Alpha Delta Mu, Dalton State College, Dalton, GA
Alpha Delta Nu, Miles College, Birmingham, AL
Alpha Delta Xi, Ramapo College of New Jersey, Mahwah, NJ
Alpha Delta Omicron, Alma College, Alma, MI
Alpha Delta Pi, John A. Logan College, Carterville, IL
Alpha Delta Rho, Collin County Community College, Plano, TX
Alpha Delta Sigma, Huston-Tillotson University, Austin, TX
Alpha Delta Tau, Utica College, Utica, NY Happy Anniversary, Chapters!
Celebrating major anniversary milestones are the following KDP Chapters:

50 Years
Theta Upsilon, Howard Payne University, TX
Theta Phi, Catawba College, NC
Theta Chi, Mississippi State University, MS

25 Years
Pi Delta, Bethune-Cookman College, FL
Pi Epsilon, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, WI
Pi Zeta, Louisiana State University-Shreveport, LA
Pi Eta, Houston Baptist University, TX
Pi Theta, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, NC
Pi Iota, Tarleton State, TX
Pi Lambda, University of St. Thomas, TX
Pi Nu, Metropolitan State College of Denver, CO
Pi Xi, Wagner College, NY