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Photo by Bill Green
Amy Belote sits with her eyes trained on a good book as she and dozens of others participate in the Literacy Council of Frederick County's first read-a-thon at the C. Burr Artz Public Library on Saturday. |
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Sitting down and reading a book she enjoys for the Literacy Council of Frederick County's first read-a-thon did not seem like the worst way for Jillian DeShazer to spend a few hours Saturday afternoon."I love to read, so it's not really a hardship," DeShazer said. More than 45 people, from adults to infants, showed up at the C. Burr Artz Public Library to set aside some reading time to help local residents gain or improve literacy. Chelsea Henkel, Volunteer Maryland coordinator for the council, said the Literacy Council had raised about $1,000 from volunteers and their sponsors, as well as donations from local businesses, which included coffee and snacks for the readers. Proceeds will go toward books, CDs and other materials for students involved in the Literacy Council. According to statistics provided by the Literacy Council at the event, about 20 percent of adults in the United States are functionally illiterate. In Maryland, more than 350,000 adults have less than a high school education, the Literacy Council said. In Frederick County, about 5.1 percent of the population has less than an eighth-grade education, and 16.2 percent of adults have less than a high school education. The Literacy Council helps about 200 adults annually in Frederick County, and about two-thirds of their students are learning English as a second language. Nicole Albertson and her daughter Abby, 4, and son Drew, 1, heard about the event through a friend at the Literacy Council and decided to show their support. "It's an important cause for the community," she said. Albertson said reading is part of her family's daily routine. Meredith Welty, a language arts teacher at Urbana Middle School, and her younger sister Olivia, 7, raised about $500 from students, friends and family members. They volunteered three hours Saturday -- Meredith was reading "The Secret Life of Bees," by Sue Monk Kidd, while Olivia was reading one in the "Junie B. Jones" series by Barbara Park. "It was an easy thing to raise money for," Meredith Welty said.
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