At a luncheon meeting at the Saratoga Country Club, the following officers were installed to carry on the business of the Assistance League of Los Gatos-Saratoga for the coming fiscal year.  President:  Kristine Burke; President-Elect:  Susan Scharlach; Vice President Membership:  Karen Maxwell and Gladie Rabitz; Vice President Philanthropy:  Barbara Alioto and Barbara Weber;  Vice President Resource Development:  Dru Barth and Barbara Dariano; Secretary:  Janet Jacobson;  Treasurer:  Lynn Sprague; Education:  Sue Whelton; Public Relations:  Nancy McDonnel; Strategic Planning:  Kathy Kelley; Parliamentarian:  Susan Buxton. 

The Ada Laughlin Award recognizes a member who is an unsung heroine.  Named for the co-founder of Assistance League who preferred to work behind the scenes, the 2015 award was given to Kitty Horowitz in recognition of her many years of service.  An RN by profession, Kitty is the program chair of our Family Program which works with public health nurses in the Nurse Family Partnership that supports very young mothers in Santa Clara County.  Kitty has also been a faithful member of the team that cooks lunches for the Adult Day Care Center in Saratoga.  Congratulations, Kitty!

"You're never too old, too wacky, too wild to pick up a book and read with a child!"    Dr. Seuss

Our 50 Literacy Program readers really stepped up to the plate this year. They tried out new ways of adding value to our time reading to students in 50 classrooms.   They explained vocabulary and difficult concepts, brought photos to illustrate what the book was about, worked to add more nonfiction books to their reading lists, and tried some poetry.  If you were lucky you might even have found a couple of readers “in costume,” and the initial evaluations from the readers indicate that their students loved it all.

These dedicated readers read 800 books in classrooms and left them with the teachers to share again and again; 2,500 books were given to students to take home and read with their families; and our readers logged 200 hours in classrooms as well as countless hours preparing to share quality literature with children.

It is known that a child from a low income home is seven times more likely to drop out of school than his more affluent peers.  Most of the children we reach in our Literacy Program are from low income homes and are receiving free and reduced lunches. There are often no books in their homes, and we know that we are helping in a small way to help break the cycle of poverty by encouraging them to read and enjoy reading.

To our readers we say a BIG thank you for all you have done this year!  Thank you again for what you do for the children we serve. 

 Terri Spice & Lynette Key, Literacy Co-Chairs