Date: Dec 05, 2008

Verizon Foundation Awards Grant to Hofstra University's Reading/Writing Learning Clinic at the Joan and Arnold Saltzman Community Services Center

$10,000 Grant Will Support Local Literacy Workshops

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY … A new literacy outreach project to promote literacy to economically disadvantaged teens and parents from communities that neighbor Hofstra University will receive a $10,000 grant this week from the Verizon Foundation. The project, titled “Supporting Youth and Families in Developing Literacy for the 21st Century,” will be part of Hofstra University’s Reading/Writing Learning Clinic at the Joan and Arnold Saltzman Community Services Center.

Project participants will have the opportunity to develop and strengthen their literacy skills and learn to implement new technologies necessary to participate in today’s society.

The Verizon grant was applied for and will be implemented by Dr. Andrea Garcia, associate professor of literacy studies and director of the Reading/Writing Learning Clinic, and Dr. Theresa McGinnis, assistant professor of literacy studies at Hofstra.

The grant will help fund two ambitious initiatives: A series of literacy workshops for parents and an after school “Young Men’s Writing Project” (YMWP). The YMWP will be modeled after the Reading/Writing Learning Clinic’s Young Woman’s Writing Project which has been successfully running for six years in the Roosevelt and Uniondale School Districts. These writing workshops for young people encourage middle school students to channel their creativity through poetry and other kinds of writing and reading.

Both initiatives are scheduled to begin in the spring of 2009 with the recruitment of students and families.

The Joan and Arnold Saltzman Community Services Center at Hofstra University includes four clinics and a fully licensed early childhood program, as listed below. Each of these units is affiliated with either the School of Education, Health and Human Services or the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The Saltzman Center supports high-quality educational and practical experiences for Hofstra University students, and provides services to Hofstra University employees and to the community-at-large. All directors are members of academic departments, and maintain the identity and goals of each academic discipline. At the same time, they associate and collaborate effectively with each other on professional issues. Access to multiple services within the Saltzman Center afford the opportunity for a comprehensive approach to clients' needs.

Related Link: More Information About the Joan and Arnold Saltzman Community Services Center