Entries from July 2008 ↓

I wanted to introduce everyone to our new VISTA Patty Wray.  She comes to us from the Lifebridge/United Way Americorps* Vista program.  She will be working with DAWG for the next year on three projects.

1) Hope In Hard Times a collaborative project of the Media Mobilizing Project (Philadelphia), Poverty Initiative at Union Theological Seminary (New York), WV Headstart Association, and DAWG that will produce a documentary and a discussion guide that will focus on the value of Headstart to children and families in poverty in West Virginia. 

2)Leadership Development identifies and supports leaders within their communities.  DAWG has divided the state into 12 regions and is working to identify volunteer leaders in each region that will receive intensive training that they can in turn share with their communities.  Often the language the state uses regarding public assistance benefits is not understandable by people with low reading levels.  The

VISTA will develop a curriculum that will utilize adult literacy outreach to understand public assistance policies and application processes. 

3)My Life: Literacy through writing your story.   The idea behind this project is to hold regular workshops where people in poverty will learn literacy skills by writing their own personal stories that will then be compiled into an annual journal.  The workshops will be offered to teens, adults, and entire families as a way to share their experiences while developing their reading and writing skills.

If you are interested in working with Patty on any of these projects you can contact her.  Patty Wray

I don’t know why life has to be such a struggle all the time.  It seems like there’s never enough time or money to get everythin done I need to get done.  I seems like all I get done is working and I still ain’t got no money to pay all my bills.  And things just get keeping higher and higher.  If groceries keep getting higher I ain’t gonna be able to feed my kids.  We already been cuttin back to two meals a day instead of three.  All the food pantries is running low on food.  I guess cause everybody is in the same boat I am not enough money. I just cain’t understand why if you work hard you still end up poor. It just don’t make no sense that I work and work and still I got nothin in my kitchen.  I ain’t even got enough peanut butter to make a sandwich.  That is if I had any bread to put it on.  It wasn’t to long ago that I could get bread for less then a dollar now it seems its almost 2 dollars.  Its just crazy.  Everybody has to have bread.