<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2>On the faith-based discussion, I wanted to mention that the Volunteers and Literacy Task Force Committee funded by the Florida Department of Education, Division of Workforce Development, is coordinating an interesting symposium on May 15. The topic is "Linking Literacy and Faith-Based Organizations." The site is the Sheraton World Resort in Orlando. John Porter, Acting Director for the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives of the USDOE, will be the keynote speaker. Skip Long, Exec. Director of the National Jobs Partnership, will also speak. We have faith-based leaders(national and state) talking about the commitment of their organizations to literacy. We have local literacy practitioners talking about how their faith-based literacy programs were initiated including the basics of funding, partnerships and collaboration. We have had a great response. A Workforce Development Board is chartering a bus from South Florida to take local faith leaders and literacy providers to to the event. We have a number of anticipated outcomes but basically hope that as a result of the day literacy providers and faith-based organizations will see many ways they can partner together to serve adults in great need of literacy services.
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<BR>Darlene Kostrub, Executive Director
<BR>Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition
<BR>551 SE 8th St., Suite 505
<BR>Delray Beach, FL 33483
<BR>561-279-9103
<BR>Fax 561-265-3579
<BR>http://community.gopbi.com/literacy</FONT></HTML>