Colleen Harper Wins United Way 2019 Speaker of the Year Award

Learner and Board member Colleen Harper was recently recognized by the United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin with the 2019 Campaign Speaker of the Year Award.

Over the past few years, Colleen has spoken on behalf of Action Read on numerous occasions, which she always approaches with cheerfulness, openness and a relaxed attitude. She has touched countless lives with her charismatic, natural and warm personality, her quick wit, and her amazing storytelling skills. Colleen has explained to our United Way supporters and visitors in the most powerful way why organizations like Action Read need their support, and why they make a difference in people’s lives. In always speaking from the heart and from lived experience, she makes people feel happy and appreciated, validated and motivated to donate or to get involved in their community. When announcing the award recipient, the United Way presenter reported that Colleen had touched more people’s minds and hearts than any other agency speaker they had heard in the 'Seeing is Believing Tours'.

All of us at Action Read greatly appreciate all that you have contributed Colleen, and we are so grateful to you. We are grateful too to the United Way of Guelph Wellington Dufferin for acknowledging your contributions. The recognition is truly deserved. 

Congrats Colleen!

Colleen Harper; December 2019
Photo credit The United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin

2017 AGM and 30th Anniversary Celebration

We enjoyed a wonderful jam-packed AGM and 30^th anniversary celebration on September 27^th. We celebrated the work and accomplishments of our members in 2016-2017, and looked back with much fondness at 30 years of history, successes and stories.

Jane Tuer Executive Director of Project Read Literacy Network gave a terrific presentation. Then Joanne, Laura Sumner and Celina Whaling-Rae launched their incredible new film done at Action Read called ' Finding Our Voice - Stories from Adult Literacy Learners'. 

In 1987 Action Read started with a dream to help those who couldn’t find employment due to basic skill gaps. In fact, Action Read was initially a project of the Centre for Employable Workers. Action Read set out to pair individuals who wanted help with trained community volunteers. From there, small group learning, family literacy and computer based programs quickly emerged.  In 1991 Action Read became an independently incorporated charity. Throughout the 1990s, we moved several times to accommodate growing demand.  

For 17 years we were located at the Park Mall building in downtown Guelph, and in 2017 we came here! While many changes have occurred at Action Read since 1987, we remain a community-based agency committed to learner-centred programming, involvement and accessibility – the values that propelled us forward from the beginning. Here are some highlights from our celebration...

Reviewing the Annual Report prior to getting started

Hosts with the most! Shawn Knight and Renee O'Drowsky

Outgoing chair and all round awesome volunteer Jeff Guitard!

Life is sweet...What would a celebration be without cake?!

Some of our members

Doris Middleton Award Winner Colleen Harper (right) with her tutor Mel and Doris's daughter Sherri Gosse

From Project Read's Presentation (Gosh, golly, gee-whiz ;) )

2017 Winegard Award Winners Recognized

Wednesday, March 29, 2017 — News Release by the Volunteer Centre of Guelph / Wellington

A student helping Syrian refugees adjust to life in Canada, a professor who uses his skills in computer science to support food security, and a Physical Resources (PR) manager who teaches adults how to read are the winners of this year’s William Winegard Exemplary Volunteer Awards. Student Yousr El Sharawy, computer science professor Dan Gillis and PR manager Paul Mesman were honoured at a ceremony at the Gryphon Athletics Centre March 29.

Established in 2007, the awards are presented each year to U of G staff, faculty and students who volunteer in the community by the University of Guelph, the United Way of Guelph Wellington Dufferin and the Volunteer Centre of Guelph/Wellington.



Volunteer award winners (from left) Paul Mesman, Yousr El Sharawy and Daniel Gillis with William Winegard

They are named for William Winegard, former U of G president and former Guelph MP who served as Canada’s first minister of science and as parliamentary secretary to the minister of international trade.

 

“I’m not in the same league in volunteering as most of you. In my experience in Guelph, the volunteers are just fantastic. It makes you feel good to see such dedicated people,” Winegard said in a short speech.

 

Winegard continues to volunteer today as a reading buddy for local schoolchildren.

 

“Professor Gillis, Paul and Yousr are dedicated volunteers recognized today for their tremendous community spirit,” said Ken Dardano, executive director of United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin.

 “United Way is pleased to partner with the Volunteer Centre and the University of Guelph to present these outstanding volunteers with this year’s Winegard Awards.”

El Sharawy uses her Arabic-language skills to help refugees as a logistics coordinator and interpreter for a private Syrian refugee sponsorship program. She co-founded the campus Migrant Justice initiative and works with other campus groups, and volunteers with the Guelph Refugee Sponsorship Forum.

Gillis co-founded Farm to Fork, which aims to improve the quality and quantity of food donated to emergency food systems. He is also a founder of The Seed Community Food Hub, which helps local partners bring people together to access, grow, cook and share healthful food. He has co-organized the Food Waste Hackathon and the Feeding Nine Billion Challenge, both of which involve multidisciplinary teams of U of G students developing solutions to food problems.

Mesman has been a volunteer tutor at Action Read Community Literacy Centre since 2013. He meets with learners once a week to help them develop practical skills and to build their confidence and self-esteem. “Our three recipients have shown how volunteers can turn their passions into lasting contributions benefiting people and organizations in our community,” said Christine Oldfield, executive director of the Volunteer Centre of Guelph/Wellington.

Recognizing the Achievements of our Members!

Each year at the Annual General Meeting, Action Read recognizes the contributions and achievements of individuals who have made a particular difference to our community and our mission over the past year. Choosing recipients is very difficult as there are always so many deserving candidates. Here are the recipients for 2015-2016:

Betty Bean Kennedy Award for Outstanding Volunteer

Like many of our learners, Emmett O’Neill quit school at the age of 16. He later returned to school where he came to love learning and eventually became a high school teacher for over 25 years. Retired from teaching, Emmett was keen to continue to help others to improve their skills.

Over the past 3 years, Emmett has worked intensively with two Action Read learners. Both have made amazing progress, benefitting from Emmett’s significant talent as an educator and his immense dedication and experience. Emmett’s unwavering patience, flexibility and encouragement are particularly appreciated by learners and staff alike.

Last year, Emmett faced a life threatening illness. During all the treatments and surgeries, he remained fully committed to his tutoring. When feeling well enough, he arranged to meet his learner whenever possible. Emmett continues to inspire us all with his passion and enthusiasm for lifelong learning. Our sincere thanks Emmett!

The Doris Middleton Award

Deb Donaldson

This award is given to a learner who exemplifies the dedication to learning, spirit and humour of the woman who inspired it. Without question, Debbie Donaldson is one such woman! Deb’s commitment to learning and to growing as a writer can only be described as exceptional. Deb came to Action Read to work on her computer skills, but “stumbled across” poetry in the process.   Deb graces the centre with unwavering focus,  dedication and a sunny attitude. Recently, Deb found the courage to speak publicly about her difficulties with learning in her life. She touched many people when she performed her spoken word poem at our 2016 fundraiser. Since coming to Action Read Deb has written and self-published 3 poetry books. She states “I feel capable, empowered, self-confident and enthusiastic about my progress”.  We are proud of you Deb and look forward to more poetry!

Shirley Almack Award for Learner Leadership

Shawn Knight

Shirley Almack was an Action Read Member who inspired many people around her with her courage, strength and leadership.

This year’s award goes to Shawn Knight. Shawn has made leaps and bounds in his reading and writing abilities, and his passion for personal growth and organizational governance is truly inspiring. Last year, Shawn’s newfound self-confidence in his skills meant that he felt ready to take on the responsibility of a   Learner Position on the Board of Directors. In this role, Shawn has continually demonstrated focus, commitment and a collaborative spirit. He has contributed his insights and opinions, and has listened intently to those of others with kindness and openness. Shawn also leant his support to our annual fundraiser by gathering donations for the silent auction and helping with ticket sales. Shawn is always eager to learn or to quietly lend a hand, and is a valued member of the Action Read community. Congratulations Shawn!

The Action Read Community Award 

Art Kilgour of WriteDesign

We are happy to give our 2016 Community Award to Art Kilgour of WriteDesign.  For many years, Art has supported Action Read through gorgeous design work, as seen through our logo, brochure, several of our books and signs.  Art just ‘gets’ Action Read - has always   understood what we stand for and the importance of Clear Language and Design in our work. Furthermore, WriteDesign has generously and consistently supported our fundraising efforts in a variety of ways over the years. He and his partner Nichola have attended events, and have shared contacts and connections to promote the work of Action Read in the community. For these reasons, and many more, we are grateful to count you as a friend Art, and delighted to publicly recognize your longtime contribution to Action Read’s growth and evolution.

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