The Alliance for the Varied Arts (AVA) is a community arts center located in Logan, Utah. Its mission is "to promote the arts by providing education in the arts, organizing artistic events, and supporting local artists." They change lives by giving individuals opportunities to enjoy and experience the arts. The essence of art education is creativity. When you stimulate creativity, you stimulate innovation. Stimulate innovation and you grow a workforce for a vibrant economy.

The AVA has a gallery where local, regional and occasionally nationally known artists are juried for shows. When needed, the AVA hosts MFA shows required of Utah State University masters candidates. The gallery boasts a shop where local artists can sell their work for a very nominal 30% commission. In addition, the AVA offers classes for adults and children in a truly varied range of disciplines—painting and drawing, ceramics, African, Irish and Modern Dance, jewelry techniques and design, photography, and music instruction; basic creativity workshops are also offered.

The AVA hosts an annual gallery show "Kids O'Rama" where local elementary school children get to showcase their art work. The children are treated just like any artist having a gallery show. They fill out the same paperwork and can sell their work at the same consignment fee that adult artists do. It's amazing how easily the concept of adjusting the selling price to compensate for that fee is learned by those young artists. The art that is entered is marvelous—the creativity is amazing and the technique shows great promise.

These children deserve a community arts center that can further their experience of art. The local businesses deserve a center that expands the minds of adults to stimulate the flow of creativity.

[Thanks to Harold Bjork and the AVA for the accompanying pictures.]

Unfortunately, that goal has yet to be met. Although the US Census reports that 99% of the US population is literate, this was primarily judged on the basis of school grade completed and not on actual ability to read. Both of Gayle's most recent BL students held high school diplomas; but both were functionally illiterate (defined as the inability to read above a 5th grade level). Though highly intelligent, they fell through cracks in the school system because they were dyslexic. In January 2009, the US Education Department stated that 14% of adult Americans are illiterate. This means these adults cannot read well enough to hold a good job. In addition, to the effect on the individual, illiteracy affects us all. A recent report noted that illiteracy may have cost the American economy $60 billion in lost productivity and workplace health and safety issues.

Illiteracy crosses gender, ethnic, socioeconomic and geographical lines. It is NOT a measure of the innate intelligence of the individual, but rather is frequently a problem with understanding the most basic building blocks of reading—the fact that words are made up of a few basic sounds (44 in English). Once a dyslexic adult (or child) is taught to discriminate these phonemes of words, they rapidly learn to read and write.


Someone who is illiterate cannot carry out a normal life. Think about what you do every day that involves reading. List what you did in the last day.

• Was there an alert posted on the highway during your commute?
• Did you order off the menu for lunch?
• Did you write a check?
• Are you planning a trip; have you ever taken a trip by yourself?
• Did you fill out an application for a job or refresh your resume?
• What else couldn't you do if you can't read?How much of it did NOT use reading or writing?

Bridgerland Literacy provides free tutoring to anyone who wants to learn to read. They train tutors how to teach and pair them one-on-one with a motivated student.

Coorg Organisation for Rural Development (CORD) is located in the state of Karnataka in Southern India. Karnataka boasts of being India's "Silicon Valley" (Bangalore). Yet at the same time it experiences profound poverty and other social problems like gender and caste discrimination, early marriages, and domestic violence. CORD is fighting poverty and these social issues to empower women and tribal (aboriginal) communities. The goal is to provide education and other basic services so that the underprivileged can be equipped with the tools to improve their lives.

Jennie, a former literacy student, recently volunteered with CORD for 6 weeks and saw first-hand the abject poverty that exists in Karnataka. Frequently, the children must work at menial tasks to put rice on the family's table. They can think only of their daily existence, not of the long-range future. CORD works with women and children to convince them that only through literacy and a school education will they be able to break the cycle of poverty. CORD sponsors as many children through school as they can afford. Currently, they support about 125 students. But hundreds more children picking through garbage, digging ditches and sold into slavery need help. Jennie says that "Slumdog Millionaire" shows the true picture of urban poverty in India.

The rural poverty, particularly among the tribal peoples, is heart-breaking too. During Jennie's volunteer stint, she met with tribal village elders and learned about their most basic needs. She challenged them to build a care center in the village, so that children would not have to walk barefoot for nearly a mile to stay in a shack while their parents worked at a local plantation. She contributed the $30.00 it took to purchase hay to thatch the roof, and the villagers built the structure. Jennie also bought shoes for the children (less then $20.00 for all) and the seeds for a village garden so the children and adults could have healthier food.

There is need through out the world. But, when you learn about an organization that puts 100% of donations to work, it stands out as particularly worthy of support.

[Thanks to Jennie Jepsen for these pictures.}