The local chapter of 100+ Women Who Care donated $10,900 to the Adult Education department at Kishwaukee College to fund the Illinois High School Equivalency and English Language classes through Spring 2016. Pictured, L to R, are Edith Craig, Department Manager at the DeKalb Public Library; Cathy Larkin, ELA instructor (in back); Carlos Muñoz, DeKalb, Intermediate level ELA student; Maria Sanchez, DeKalb, Beginning level ELA student; and Donna Wagnaar, ELA instructor.
In February of this year, the Adult Education department at Kishwaukee College received a generous donation from a local philanthropic group, the DeKalb/Sycamore chapter of 100+ Women Who Care. The $10,900 donation was used to fund Illinois High School Equivalency and English Language Acquisition (or ELA, formerly ESL – English as a Second Language) classes offered by the Adult Education department at no cost to participants in the local communities.
Tricia Wagner, Director of Adult Education at the College, stated, “The 100+ Women’s generous donation made it possible for us to reinstitute programming that had been cut or on hold due to the budget impasse in Springfield. Our department is grateful on behalf of the community members whose lives have been changed for the better because these classes could continue.” According to Wagner, the 100+ Women’s donation funded Adult Basic and Secondary Education and High School Equivalency classes focused on math and science content at Westminster Presbyterian Church in DeKalb; Advanced ELA classes and Spanish Adult Secondary
Education classes at Kishwaukee College; and Beginning and Intermediate ELA classes at the DeKalb Public Library. At the DeKalb Public Library, a new class site partner for the Adult Education department, instructors Donna Wagnaar and Cathy Larkin have been assisting community residents, who are non-native English speakers, increase their fluency and comfort level with speaking, reading, writing and understanding their new language.
Wagnaar said, “Holding the class at the DeKalb Public Library has been great because it is centrally located so students can get here easily. Our students here finished the Fall semester and then had no class to go to in the spring. We were grateful we could start class again in March. It really helped the students retain what they had learned.”
In addition, the newly remodeled Library allows for built-in technology resources and spacious meeting rooms. Edith Craig, Department Manager at the Library, gives the students tours of the facility, increasing their comfort level and familiarity which results in more families using the resources available through the Library. Wagnaar added, “Plus, while students are in class, their family members can be upstairs participating in Library programs or exploring the Library itself.”
100+ Women Who Care is an organization that began in 2006 in Jackson, MI and has since grown to well over 350 chapters across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The concept is very simple: a local group of 100 or more women gather four times each year. Members can put the name of a local stand-alone 501(c)(3) into a basket and a potential recipient is drawn at random. The nominating woman has five minutes to present on her nomination and then the group votes whether or not to fund the need. Each woman writes a check for $100 to the selected charity, resulting in a minimum $10,000 donation. Local chapter member Evelina Cichy advocated for the funding to assist the Adult Education programs for the Spring 2016 semester. Tricia Wagner said, “We are so very grateful to Evelina for thinking of our programs. Many people in the local communities benefitted from her thoughtfulness in putting our needs forward to the group. The 100+ Women truly made an impact on members of our community!”
For more information on the Fall 2016 High School Equivalency preparation classes or beginning/intermediate and advanced ELA classes offered by Kishwaukee College’s Adult Education department, contact Tricia Wagner, Director of Adult Education at 815-825- 9408 or at tricia.wagner@kishwaukeecollege.edu.
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