The Niagara Frontier Reading Council been awarded Honor Council status for the second year in a row. Honor Council is awarded annually by the International Reading Association to Councils which have well rounded programs serving their members and the community. The International Reading Association reviews the work a Council has completed between April 1 and March 1 of the previous year. A Council which applies needs to be in good standing with all of its Board Members joining the International Reading Association and a portion of their membership being International Reading Association members as well. Another consideration for Honor Council status is how they serve their membership and what types of outreach programs they provide for the community. The Niagara Frontier Reading Council this past year offered a variety of programs to our members. Annually, programs such as the Fall Conference, Winter Brunch and Spring Brunch provide professional learning opportunities for members and non-members. This year, our Council also co-sponsored a Response to Intervention Conference with the Council for Exceptional Children - Chapter 402 and the First Annual Teacher-to-Teacher Conference with the Western New York Writing Project.
Our organization has been involved in a number of community outreach programs as well. The Niagara Frontier Reading Council and the Buffalo Zoo Women's Board collaborated on the "Wild About Reading" event that took place at the Buffalo Zoological Gardens. Both organizations created craft stations, contacted local celebrities to serve as guest readers, and handed out free children's books. For the past five years we have also been active with Habitat for Humanities in Erie and Niagara Counties. A representative from our organization attends each house dedication where there are any children from birth to 18 years of age and gives a basket of books to the children moving into the house. The books are selected for the children by their interest and age levels. Additionally, one member of our reading council traveled to Karen, Kenya (Hekima School) to represent our organization. While there she donated 6 weeks of time working in the school with students and teachers by providing inservice training. She also assisted in the development of their library and supported the teacher "reading club." Additionally, we donated $200 to purchase books for their library as well as IRA and Local Membership for the Director of Hekima School.
Finally, our website serves as a vehicle of communication between those interested in various aspects of literacy. Through this website visitors can read about the organization, gain access to forms to participate in our ongoing professional development opportunities, apply for mini-grant funding for literacy projects within their own classrooms, nominate those who provide service to reading within the area or those who are outstanding educators to be noticed by the council, become involved in our outreach programs, obtain contact information for those on the Board of Directors as well as those in office, and explore links to other valuable reading websites.