Athena Program Creates Dynamic Learning Environment for Young Mothers

--

In mid-June, Reader to Reader hosted a group of mothers from the Care Center for the Athena program, a week-long program aimed at imparting financial and nutritional knowledge, and empowering the mothers to realize that they have their own powerful stories within them through writing and recording spoken word poetry.

This year marked the ninth year of the Athena program.

Everyday, Chef Bill Collins cooked us breakfast and lunch, showing the mothers sample menus and illustrating the health and cost benefits of home-cooked meals as opposed to fast food options. Chef Bill also demonstrated cooking skills, such as carving a chicken and creating simple syrup.

One of our favorite activities during the week was helping the mothers make picture books for their children. They filled their books with pictures of their children and quotes, and wrote heartfelt messages to read to their children. As they worked, they relayed stories about their experiences with pregnancy and childbirth, including all the joys and pains of motherhood. The moms also showed off pictures of their babies and shared funny anecdotes.

Early on in the week, we also led a spoken word poetry workshop with all of the moms where they wrote poems that spoke to their experiences as mothers and with their families. On Tuesday, we went to record the poems that the moms wrote at Northfire Recording Studio in Amherst. While there, the studio’s power went out, interrupting our session, but fortunately, we were able to go back on Wednesday to finish all of the recordings. On the final day of the Athena Program, we went to the Care Center and played the finished recordings of the mothers’ poems for them and their classmates, to celebrate the great work they did this week, all while drinking delicious smoothies.

Another one of the highlights was a financial literacy workshop that was presented by Florence Bank. The mothers learned about budgeting, credit-ratings, and how to manage a debit and credit card.

Throughout the week the mothers received free books and clothes for themselves and their children.

It was a busy week filled with lots of different activities, and perhaps most importantly, lots of delicious food—we had a lot of fun, and can’t wait to create more memories next year!

Athena Program Reaches Teen Moms

 

Summer truly feels like it's begun at Reader to Reader when we have our annual Athena Interactive Literacy Program, which connects teen mothers from Holyoke's Care Center with community partners to foster empowerment in different areas of their lives. During the year moms work towards their GED at the Care Center, an alternative education program which seeks to "help them grasp how powerful they are, give them the tools to learn and provide them with an exciting and engaging learning environment." These sentiments echo Reader to Reader's own attitudes in our global literacy efforts, and now in its seventh year, Athena is a weeklong program that builds skills to help these young families thrive and learn.

Nutritional literacy is a major component of Athena. Local chef Bill Collins kicks off mornings with breakfast and wraps up afternoons with lunch. Each meal is accompanied with discussions centered around grocery shopping on a budget, balancing the demands of preparing a meal with young children around, simple and quick but nutritious meals, and various cooking tips, tricks, and stories. The moms even get to try their hand at food prep and cooking throughout the week!

Between meals, a range of activities give the moms a chance to express their voices. One of our college interns led a spoken word poetry workshop and later in the week, we took a trip to Northfire Recording Studio for a recording session. This year's selection of poetry include themes of family, love, and motherhood. 

The week's other project, board book making, was filled with laughter, casual discussions, crafting fun, and sweetest of all, sharing baby and toddler photos.

In addition to exploring their creativity, the moms explored financial literacy with Florence Bank and children's book and writing for different audiences with Phantom Tollbooth author Norton Juster. 

It was a week of learning for all involved: the moms themselves, Reader to Reader staff and interns, and the community partners who so generously shared their time and knowledge with us. Fittingly, we closed the week out with a celebration at the Care Center which allowed other Center students and staff a glimpse of what we were up to all week. 

We are so grateful to have been able to spend Athena week with participating moms and we will continue to cheer them on in their aspirations!

Recording Spoken Word Poetry at Northfire Recording Studio

Teen mothers from Holyoke, MA, went to Northfire Studio to record their spoken word poetry on day 2 of our Athena Program.

The Athena Program works with teen mothers from Holyoke, MA, and combines personal literacy and family literacy with healthy eating and cooking.

The Athena Program is sponsored by Florence Bank and Northfire Recording Studio.

Athena Program Kicks Off 6th Year!

Day 1 of our 6th annual Athena Interactive Literacy Program kicked off with Chef Bill Collins demonstrating how to make homemade lemonade, and the versatility of the egg.

The Athena Program works with teen mothers from Holyoke, MA, and combines personal literacy and family literacy with healthy eating and cooking.

The Athena Program is sponsored by Florence Bank.

Video Highlights of the 2014 Athena Interactive Literacy Program

Reader to Reader's Athena Interactive Literacy Program works with teen mothers from Holyoke, MA, and combines personal literacy and family literacy with healthy eating and cooking.

A special thank you to Chef Bill Collins and Northfire Recording Studio for their donated services.

The Athena Program is made possible thanks to Florence Savings Bank,  the F.I.S.H. Foundation, Inc., PeoplesBank, and the AEC Trust.

Bags of Books!

Students from the Care Center visited Reader to Reader and had a fun time filling bags full of books for themselves and their children.

Picking out books from our 10,000 book inventory is always a great way to get hooked on reading.

The Care Center is an alternative education program located in Holyoke, Massachusetts, for pregnant and parenting teens who have dropped out of high school. We are pleased to support their work by donating books and school supplies, and through their participation in our Athena Interactive literacy Program.

Athena Students Get Lots and Lots of Books!

Everyday the teen mothers participating in the Athena Interactive Literacy Program go home with lots of books for themselves and their children.

“This program gets so many books into the community,” says the Care Center’s education director, Ana Rodriguez, who notes that these students come from homes in Holyoke and Springfield that are often devoid of books.

Each day the participating teen mothers spend time going through Reader to Reader’s inventory of 10,000 books, picking out titles that intrigue them. By the end of the week the mothers have taken home hundreds books that they not only read themselves and to their children, but also share with friends and family.

Launched in 2010, the Athena Interactive Literacy Program features a week-long workshop that works with pregnant and parenting teens in order to build their reading and writing skills, and to explore healthy eating and cooking.

The program is a partnership between Reader to Reader and The Care Center in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

Funding is provided by a grant from PeoplesBank and a generous donation from Mary Ann Cofrin.

Chef Bill Helps Athena Students Explore the World of Healthy Cooking

Food and fun where on the menu as Chef Bill Collins helped the teen mothers attending Reader to Reader’s Athena Interactive Literacy Program explore healthy eating and cooking.

The students spend two hours each day learning cooking techniques ranging from omelets and French toast to low-fat versions of Chicken Alfredo.

“We are so grateful to have Chef Bill, says Reader to Reader executive director David Mazor. “Bill is key to the Athena Program’s success. He’s both an educator and an entertainer. He brings such a fun energy to each lesson and the students really connect with him, which makes more open for all the writing exercises we do all week.”


Chef Bill Collins is a graduate of the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts with over 15 years professional experience, including the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Boston

Launched in 2010, the Athena Interactive Literacy Program features a week-long workshop that works with pregnant and parenting teens in order to build their reading and writing skills, and to explore healthy eating and cooking.

The program is a partnership between Reader to Reader and The Care Center in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

Funding is provided by a grant from PeoplesBank and a generous donation from Mary Ann Cofrin.

Athena Mothers Explore Writing With Peter Elbow

Reader to Reader’s Athena Interactive Literacy Program kicked off its week-long workshop with a writing seminar from renowned writing teacher Peter Elbow. The author of Writing Without Teachers and Writing With Power, Elbow worked with the teen mothers attending the program on how to free up the writing process.

Launched in 2010, the Athena Interactive Literacy Program features a week-long workshop that works with pregnant and parenting teens in order to build their reading and writing skills, and to explore healthy eating and cooking. The program is a partnership between Reader to Reader and The Care Center in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

The young mothers in the program currently attend The Care Center where they are working on getting their G.E.D.s so they can attend college. Athena supplements their studies, giving them a dynamic week of exploration that moves beyond test taking to help them discover the joy of being a student.

The program brings together an exciting team of educators, writers, and artists, including noted writing teacher Peter Elbow, illustrious author Norton Juster, and Chef Bill Collins, a graduate of the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts with over 15 years professional experience, including the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Boston. The students spend mornings exploring reading and writing in a variety of interesting settings, including recording poetry at a professional recording studio, and afternoons are dedicated to learning to cook healthy food for themselves and their children.

Funding is provided by a grant from PeoplesBank and a generous donation from Mary Ann Cofrin.

Care Center Students Visit and Get Lots of Books

Teen mothers taking the Humanities 108 class at The Care Center in Holyoke, MA, celebrated their completion of the course with a visit to Reader to Reader to pick out lots of books for themselves and their children. The young women filled bag after bag with a wide variety of books.

Dear Reader to Reader,

THANK YOU so much for our fabulous visit yesterday to Reader to Reader. The girls had a great time exploring your shelves and came away with armfuls of books. It was wonderful to see them so excited and full of joy about their finds! You made five young women (and their children) very happy.

Thanks, as always, for your support of The Care Center and of Humanities 108 in particular.

Yours,
Anita Gallers
The Care Center
Holyoke, MA