By Stephanie Grinnell
Staff Writer
It wasn’t your typical awards ceremony June 2 at the J. R. Martin Community Center in Biddeford, where Former First Lady Barbara Bush reminisced about her granddaughter Jenna’s recent wedding in Texas. She called the event “extraordinary,” though she said her husband George H. W. Bush contracted pneumonia during the trip.
“He’s fine now, thanks,” she said, and went on to speak about literacy programs in Maine before handing out grant checks totaling more than $322,000.
“Everybody says they want to be a hero but nobody wants to do the dishes,” she said. “Every single person who works with these programs and supports them is a hero. You are making our country and our state a much, much better place.”
Bush presented the grants through the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. Eight communities received grants of about $25,000 each, including local groups such as School Union 7’s “Saco Family Readers,” the University of Southern Maine’s “Kennedy Park English as a Second Language Collaborative: Project Read with ME” and Maine School Administrative District 6’s “Read to Succeed” programs.
Sanford Community and Adult Education’s “Families Read” program was the recipient of a $25,000 Lighthouse Grant, which was established this year to recognize well-established literacy programs with outreach activities. Four other communities were awarded Lighthouse Grants, including the Teen and Young Parent Program of Knox County, Maine School Administrative District 27 in Fort Kent, Maine School Administrative District 3 in Unity and the Portland School Department.
Guest speaker Destiny Johnson of Windham shared her experience as a high school drop-out and teen mother who went back to school through Windham Adult Education and received her General Education Diploma. She said she began skipping school as a sophomore in high school when her alcoholic father became seriously ill. It wasn’t until she became pregnant that Johnson decided she needed a new direction.
“That was when I realized I had to do something further with my life,” she said. “I often felt that my life could be more, that I could be more.”
Through Windham’s Gateway literacy program, Johnson and her 4-year-old son Jacob participate in a variety of activities, such as Family Fun night. Jacob is in Head Start, where his mother describes him as “a successful learner.”
Johnson ended her speech by directly addressing Bush, seated in the front row.
“I would like to thank you Mrs. Bush, for providing the funding for this awesome program that helps me and families like mine,” she said. “My life may not have had the best start, but you have made it possible for me to have a wonderful future that I am building.”
Maine’s First Lady Karen Baldacci also spoke on the importance of literacy. Baldacci is a licensed kindergarten teacher and said she knows firsthand the importance of reading.
“What you do makes a difference,” she said to the room of educators. “The governor and I both strongly believe that families that read together are families that succeed.”
The awards ceremony marked the launch of a new Web site for Maine Family Literacy as well. The Web site, www.mainefamilyliteracy.com, provides information to families about the program in addition to literacy information.