 The first year I played at the Literacy Council Scrabble Tournament, someone handed my mom and I a little green sticker before the games started. “Scrabble Goddess” the sticker read. Mom probably deserved it more than I did. She has a vocabulary twice the size of mine. And if she happens to not know a word, she can usually figure it out by entomology. She took Latin in high school. Root words are easy for her. Either way it puts me at a distinct disadvantage when playing Scrabble with her. In any case, we are both lovers of words, books, and Scrabble. Goddesses, I don’t about, but I sure wanted to live up to that title.  When we first heard about the Literacy Council Scrabble tournament, it changed our game. I was a volunteer Literacy Council tutor then. It was the first year of the Literacy Council Scrabble fundraiser (2005) and there was something intriguing about the rules of the game. For the fundraiser, the Literacy Council was offering team play. Four people work together to build the highest scoring board possible. Instead of choosing your next letters out of a little velvet bag, ALL the letters are face up. Playing on teams gave Mom and me, plus my brother and his girlfriend, a chance to join forces, create strategies and make spectacular words.  Maybe playing in the tournament for 13 years doesn’t make me a Scrabble Goddess, but we have won a couple times over the year. So I’m giving away my secrets, a few anyway. Why? Because I want everyone to have as much fun at the Literacy Council Scrabble Tournament as my family has over the years. Here are three secrets for scoring big at the Literacy Council tournament
I’m encouraging the Scrabble Goddess in everyone to register to play this year at the 13th Annual Scrabble Tournament. It’s for a good cause, there are some wonderful prizes thanks to local businesses, great food thanks to the local Altrusa group, and it’s just plain fun to play board games in the middle of winter. Call or go online to register. 419-223-0252 https://www.limaliteracy.net/scrabble.html 
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 These are the cards you drew. You’ve just come back from the service with PTSD. You don’t have a job. You’ve enrolled at the community college and you’re living with your aunt and uncle. He has a drug problem and lost his job. She cleans houses and is about ready to leave him. No one makes enough money to cover the basics: food, clothing, housing, and healthcare. Those were the cards my “family” drew at the Cost of Poverty Experience (COPE) a couple months ago. Four people from our office attended the experience hosted by the Goodwill Easter Seals.  The design of the training was that the 50 or so participants were divided into families. Their situations, needs, and income were printed on cards in an envelope. Each 15-minute "session" was a scramble to get the bills paid, find a job, go to school, etc. There were several community service tables like a grocery store, police station, welfare center and a pawn shop, set up to assist. The goal was for the families to make it through the month, or four sessions, without losing their home, going hungry or even going to jail. The real goal was to get as close to the experience of poverty as possible so the participants (many of whom work for local social agencies) could experience the challenges their clients may face regularly.  From: https://www.development.ohio.gov/files/research/p7005.pdf For me and my coworkers, it was eye-opening. Sparse resources forced us to explain ourselves and plead with the community service groups for help. The time limits put us in frustrating positions. One participant who lost their home and stayed at a shelter ended up having to wear a sticker with big red letters “Bed Bugs.” At times it seemed there was no way out. I even felt physically tense. A debriefing session followed the experience. We had the chance to share stories and reflect on our decisions. We related our experiences in the game to the problems many of us see each day with our own clients. I would encourage anyone, not just those working with low-income individuals, to take part in a COPE session. It’s well-designed and will probably give you a new perspective on the panhandlers you may see at certain intersections in Lima. Here's your chance to participate in COPEThere’s another training coming up Saturday at St. Mark’s Methodist Church. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m January 27, a re-entry edition of COPE will engage people in the struggles of those involved in the criminal justice system. To register call St. Mark’s at 419-222-3601.
http://www.limaohio.com/news/277546/st-marks-united-methodist-church-offers-cost-of-poverty-experience-event. (Note the date has changed to January 27 since the news article was published). |
Becky HirnLiteracy advocate working for the Northwest Ohio Literacy Council and the Lima City Schools Adult Education and Career Pathways program Archives
January 2018
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