HE GIVES THE GIFT OF READING.Byline: - Nicole Sunkes The day of his grandmother's funeral, Todd Prepsky knew he wanted to make a difference. ``That was one of the worst days of my life, and I decided to focus on someone else rather than on myself,'' Prepsky said. Then he learned about the Jewish Federation's Koreh L.A. Coalition for Literacy. Tod now works two hours a week, one each with a first- and a second-grader, at Napa Street Elementary School elementary school: see school. in Northridge. ``I work with them Monday mornings, and it's the best way to start my week,'' he said. The 39-year-old director of Annual Giving Annual giving is one of the most important areas in an organization’s fundraising efforts. Annual giving consists of many separate solicitation vehicles. When these vehicles are assembled together with skill, they can form the foundation of the institution’s at California State University, Northridge CSUN offers a variety of programs leading to bachelor's degrees in 61 fields and master's degrees in 42 fields. The university has over 150,000 alumni. It's also home to a summer musical theater/theater program known as TADW (TeenAge Drama Workshop) that leads teenagers through an , has been involved with Koreh L.A. for almost a year. The organization began in 1999 and set out to curtail the epidemic of illiteracy in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, schools. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. program director Elaine Albert, 70 percent of fourth-grade children in the Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. don't read at grade level. Volunteers are put through a three-hour training program with a literacy professional and are given a curriculum, materials and ideas for relating to their students. Koreh L.A. also has post-training diversity programs three times a year because the children and volunteers are not always of the same ethnic background. Koreh L.A. boasts 1,300 volunteers at 50 schools throughout Los Angeles, including 25 in the Valley. Their volunteers reach 1,700 students from kindergarten through third grade, although exceptions are made for fourth- and fifth-graders on a case-by-case basis. For more information or to volunteer for Koreh L.A., call (323) 761-8153. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Six-year-old Marco Gamino reads with Todd Prepsky, a volunteer with the Koreh L.A. Coalition for Literacy. Tina Burch/Staff Photographer |
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