by Martha Picarello
For years, Literacy Lines has included a Donor Spotlight featuring one of our recent corporate or foundation supporters. But did you know that 181 different individuals contributed to this year's Holiday Appeal? We'd like to tell you just a bit about a few of our most dedicated supporters and friends.
Joan and Frank Sellers have been supporting the Council for nearly 20 years. Joan came to the Council to volunteer as an ESOL Tutor in 1990, joined the Literacy Council Board of Directors in the late 1990s and was recognized as Volunteer of the Year in 1999. As a fundraising trailblazer, Joan was one of the first co-chairs of the LCNV Silent Auction event, which began in 1995; this Silent Auction tradition remained with the Council for a decade. For years, Joan and her husband Frank were instrumental to the success of the Literacy Council’s annual events, including not only the Silent Auction but also the LCNV Used Book Sale and the Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony. Joan was a witness to the renovation of LCNV’s headquarters at the James Lee Community Center, serving as a Commissioner on the Fairfax County Housing and Redevelopment Authority. Joan and Frank are now both agents for Weichert Realtors throughout Northern Virginia. www.joansellers.com
Mary Jane and Ron Steele have supported the Literacy Council since 1995, when Mary Jane was trained as a tutor in the Basic Adult Literacy program. She soon began tutoring a young woman from Morocco who lived in the Culmore area. As a librarian, Mary Jane says, "Books have always been important to me, and I just can't imagine a life without reading." Her dedication paid off for her tutoring student, who eventually got a job, thus ending their tutoring match. While Mary Jane no longer tutors, she and her husband Ron have made a point of consistently supporting the Council during its fundraising appeals. Ron Steele serves as president of Steele Foundations, Inc., a corporate supporter of the Literacy Council since 2001. The Steele's remain dedicated to education at every stage of life. Ron Steele serves on the board of Inner City-Inner Child, which promotes reading for at-risk preschoolers and families in the District of Columbia. And Mary Jane will be editor of this year's catalog for OLLI, a continuing education program for retirees offered at George Mason University. When they are not working to advance education in their communities, Mary Jane and Ron travel extensively and spend time visiting their large family.
Mary and Robert Taylor remain two of our most dedicated supporters. Mary was trained as a Basic Literacy tutor since 1986. In 2004, LCNV named Mary Volunteer of the Year in, and it’s easy to see why: since 2002, Mary has volunteered more than 600 hours to the Literacy Council, assisting in the LCNV office and with LCNV special events. As one of the most reliable and longest serving volunteers, she’s more commonly referred to as “Our Mary” among the staff. Notorious for her sense of humor and “can-do” spirit, Mary could light up the whole office when she would arrive on Thursdays to volunteer.
Visit the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia on these other sites as well:
