Two years on the job, Francine Gilmer has seen considerable changes around her — most of them difficult hurdles to overcome.
But during Monday’s community update for the United Way of the Pennyrile, the Christian County Literacy Council Executive Director reported nothing but growth and achievement in the last 24 months.
That’s despite the difficulties of not being able to be in the classroom more frequently, a place Gilmer says her organization belongs.
In the past and at any given time, Gilmer said there used to be 200 to 300 community readers inside local schools reading age-appropriate materials to classrooms.
A myriad of factors — mostly tied to COVID-19 and the national escalation of school violence — have unfortunately limited those exchanges in recent months, and Gilmer noted she had 15 community readers during this last school year.
Gilmer has also had the humbling task of following in the footsteps of former Executive Director Beverly Whitfield, who died unexpectedly in 2019. A textbook scholarship has been named in her honor, and Virginia Hale, of Hopkinsville, earned it this year. She’s going to Union College in Barbourville, and is pursuing a degree in education.
Without a home for some time, Gilmer noted that the CC Literary Council now has a permanent office right outside the library of Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary.
Other things have kept the United Way supported organization recently busy.
The always-anticipated “Onions For Literacy” — in which $12 bags of Vidalia onions were sold — recently wrapped with success. And Gilmer noted the bell hooks Writing Contest was a byproduct of more than $5,000 rolling in to the Literary Council through her memorial.
The “Real Men Read” program is slowly returning, too, and Gilmer added she’s anticipating more than 100 to 200 men reading in classrooms during Spring 2023. “Reading For Fun” Fridays also commenced this past year under a virtual route, with hopes of that continuing.
A “Letterboxing” Challenge has also been announced for July 1-30, in which participants have to complete a “Kentucky Writers” passport for a chance to win $50, $100 or $200 prizes.
For more information about the Literary Council’s calendar, visit their Facebook.
