WriterCoach Connection

Wondering why you should be a writer coach? Read this.

Jeanee Hoffman, who coaches at Berkeley High, tells this story, and nothing I can verbalize about WriterCoach Connection says it better:

"At the beginning of the coaching session, I told Khaleed that I had made a donation to the upcoming CAFL Read-and-Write-a-Thon in his honor. He seemed delighted to learn this.

"We started on the assignment--brainstorm on eight essay topics on the novel In the Time of Butterflies. I asked him, 'Of those eight topics, which one interests you the least, the one that you are unlikely to pursue?'

"After he pointed out his answer, I then asked him to pick out his top three. We brainstormed well on these. Feeling sufficiently 'warmed up,' I went back to the first one he had earlier eliminated and asked him what he now thought. Suddenly there was a huge smile on his face and he said, 'Yep, this IS the one I want to write about. In fact, I know already what the three body paragraphs will be about.' He continued to expound on his thoughts, while inside I was shouting, Yay!!

"We moved on to the rest of the topics and time was running low. I told him that I would not be at the next and final session, as family matters called me out of town. He seemed hopeful that he would be coached again next school year, and I remained non-committal, since I do not think we coach Juniors.

"I then pointed to a graphic of a butterfly and said, 'This is you. You are flying.'  The bell rang, and I asked him, 'Can I shake your hand?'

"With an emphatic, 'No,' he stood up and gave me the biggest hug.

"As he left the classroom he said, 'Write a book about me someday...okay?'

"While these few paragraphs hardly constitute a book, I do have to write about him. I write this both to share with others and for myself as a reminder as to the difference that one person can make in another's life."

If Jeanee's story doesn't make you want to join the rest of us in WriterCoach Connection, or stay if you are already part of the family, I don't know what will.

Bob Menzimer

Change of venue for WCC Read-and-Write-a-Thon

The  WCC Read-and-Write-a-Thon will take place not at Longfellow Middle School as previously planned but at King Middle School in Berkeley (1781 Rose St.), in the library, on Saturday, June 6 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The event will feature ten nonstop hours of reading and writing by a wide variety of volunteers, including students, community members, WCC coaches, and Community Alliance for Learning staff and board members.

You can help by donating to the Read-and-Write-a-Thon. Even a modest gift will make a difference in the effort to continue our writer coaching for next year. A donation of $10 is just $1 per hour for our volunteer readers and writers, and gifts of any size are deeply appreciated. To donate, go here.

You can also help by volunteering to read or guide writing activities. Please contact Christine at 510.499.0905.

The event is almost halfway to its goal of raising $20,000 to help save WriterCoach Connection for next year in Berkeley, Albany, and Oakland.

Bob Menzimer

Noted writers featured at WCC fundraiser

Authors Veronica Chater (Waiting for the Apocalypse, a Memoir of Faith and Family) and Beth Lisick (Helping Me Help Myself and Everybody into the Pool) will offer readings in a special fundraising event for WriterCoach Connection on Saturday, June 13, at 260 Alvarado Road in the Berkeley hills (off Ashby Avenue/Hwy 13) , on Saturday, June 13, 4:00 to 6:30 p.m.

The event will also feature WCC guest readers, including Berkeley High School students Tyler Swanson, Amina Okanovic, and Carlos Novarro, all of whom have been coached this year by WCC volunteers.

$20 recommended donation, limited ticket availability. Please RSVP to Katie at 510.531.3257 or [email protected]. 

The event is hosted by Kristina Wolf Design. All proceeds support WriterCoach Connection.

Fleishhacker Foundation renews support for WCC

For the second straight year, the Fleishhacker Foundation is supporting WriterCoach Connection, with a $7,000 grant for the 2009-10 school year. Commented Fleishhacker Foundation Executive Director Christine Elbel when making the award, "We are pleased to support the important work of your organization."

The Fleishhacker Foundation was founded in 1947 by Mortimer Fleishhacker, a banker and businessman who was active in many non-profit and educational institutions in the San Francisco Bay Area. He had been a founder of the Community Chest (forerunner of the United Way) and was for many years a Trustee of the University of California. He also served on the boards of various cultural organizations in the City.

The Fleishhacker Foundation targets programs and projects which:

• take place at the school site, preferably during the school day;
• are innovative;
• involve coordination of programs and services which support the educational process;
• connect in-school learning to the student’s home, community, and cultural life;
• are cost effective;
• and which show potential for longevity.

Especially at a time when the impact of the economy on foundation resources has been so severe across the nonprofit landscape, we deeply appreciate Fleishhacker Foundation support of WriterCoach Connection. We feel that the 400 dedicated volunteers who deliver writer coaching to our students perfectly embody the ideals that are the basis of the Fleishhacker Foundation's philanthropy.

Bob Menzimer

Donations climbing for WCC Read-and-Write-a-Thon

A lot of people are determined to keep WriterCoach Connection alive in all seven of our schools next year, despite the bleak education and school budget news. Donations are pouring in for our Read-and-Write-a-Thon, at at Longfellow Middle School in Berkeley on Saturday, June 6. In a few short days, friends of WCC have donated $2,350, and we're on our way toward our goal of $20,000!

Thank you, if you've donated! To see what all the fuss is about, go here.

Bob Menzimer

WCC sponsors fund-raising Read-and-Write-a-Thon

Like many nonprofits, WCC is in a challenging financial situation. To spread some joy and raise some much-needed funds, WCC is holding a Read-and-Write-a-Thon. On Saturday, June 6th, WCC will fill the library at Longfellow Middle School in Berkeley (1500 Derby St., at Sacramento) with readers and writers who will immerse themselves in words for ten straight hours.

Everyone connected with WriterCoach Connection, either as a program participant, as a school staffer or family member who benefits from the program, or as simply someone who knows someone who's connected with the program, is invited, encouraged, importuned (as the song says, Not Too Proud to Beg) to support the Read-and-Write-a-Thon by making a donation. Even a modest donation of $1 or $2 per hour for our marathon readers and writers will make a big impact on our ability to continue with WCC at all seven of our school sites next year in Oakland, Berkeley, and Albany.

How do you donate? Glad you asked. simply hit this link and follow your nose. And thank you!

Annie Stine and Bob Menzimer