Veterans Day Tribute

Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate the support of the United States military in improving adult basic skills in our country at the "I Read Aloud" Veterans Day Tribute, Wednesday, November 11th at the Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Metairie.

We asked those who read aloud to dedicate their reading to someone they know who struggles with literacy or who helped them with their own literacy, such as a teacher, a parent, or librarian.  Here are the readers!

Nathan read the Ralph Waldo Emerson poem "A Nation's Strength" that his mother gave him before he deployed.

 Adrienne read aloud for the Civil War Veteran in her family.

Byron, a Veteran, told memories of his experiences and read an inspirational piece entitled "Don't Quit."

Esther surprised everyone with a reading from David Sedaris about the NY Times crossword puzzle.

Jackie read aloud for her father, an Air Force Veteran, and her 5th grade teacher who "ruthlessly taught me to diagram sentences."

Karla read aloud to her mother who was there from the first book she remembers reading and loving to read.

Kathy read aloud for her favorite Veteran.

Kim had everyone sniffling with the last chapter in "My Dog Skip," but she made it through to the very end.

Laura read aloud for a World War II veteran and her nephew who is learning to read.

Linda read aloud from the dictionary on the word "communication."

Louis read aloud from his personal journal during his deployment with the National Guard in Iraq.

Nghia from the YLC's One Book One New Orleans was the early inspiration for the I Read Aloud concept as a way for individual community members to support literacy.

Board Member Patricia Harris got everyone in an early Christmas mood by reading aloud from The Grinch.

Peter is an Air Force member whose father would let him stay up late if he was reading.  He read aloud to his children who were there.

Sarah read aloud a letter her uncle wrote to her from the Coast Guard when she was 2 months old.

Sara read letters home from World War II and brought a great photo of her father from 1945.

Valencia read aloud for her nephew and for the National Guard who came into the city and helped after Katrina.

 Thanks to all our readers for making the personal connection to literacy.  It was a meaningful event for everyone!

During the "I Read Aloud" Veterans Day Tribute, local veterans and other adults selected an item to read such as:  a letter from a family member, a favorite passage from a book, a favorite recipe, or anything of sentimental value.