Lending a Helping Hand — The spirit of volunteerism and a commitment to community engagement often go hand in hand. This pairing was clearly the case earlier this month when a group of students from the English Learning Community (ELC) volunteered at the 6th Annual Charlotte Literary Festival at the Little Rock Cultural Center. Janaka Lewis helped organize this community event, and she contacted Tiffany Morin, the coordinator of the ELC, to see if any of the ELC students would be interested in volunteering. Not only did a group of these students agree to volunteer, but they showed up early in the morning to help set up for the event and assist the featured authors with their tables. A group of ELC students will also help out with the upcoming EpicFest, the public library’s children’s literature/literacy festival that will take place at ImaginOn on November 4. This year’s EpicFest will include a “teen night,” and the ELC volunteers will be helping with this aspect of the festival. For more information about EpicFest, please click on the following link: https://foundation.cmlibrary.org/epicfest-2017
Our students are not the only ones who are getting into the volunteer spirit these days. The members of our staff are also volunteering their time to help others. Jennie Mussington recently volunteered at the Second Harvest Food Bank and the Crisis Assistance Ministry, and later this week she is scheduled to volunteer with Friendship Trays. Angie Williams volunteered at the Staff Fall Festival last week, and she’s scheduled to volunteer for Verse and Vino, the major fundraising event for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Library.
As these examples demonstrate, the willingness to lend a helping hand, which is a characteristic of our departmental culture, extends well beyond the confines of our department.
Kudos — As you know, I like to use my Monday Missives to share news about recent accomplishments by members of our department. Here is the latest news:
Boyd Davis recently published a a co-authored article titled “Perceptions of U.S. Veterans Affairs and Community Healthcare Providers Regarding Cross-System Care for Heart Failure” in Chronic Illness.
Allison Hutchcraft recently gave a reading at Scuppernong Books in Greensboro as part of an event organized by the North Carolina Arts Council.
Janaka Lewis recently had a chapter titled “Brown Girls in the Ivory Tower: Reflections on Race, Gender, and Coming of Age in Academia” published in Coping With Gender Inequities: Critical Conversations of Women Faculty (Thompson and Parry, eds., Rowman & Littlefield 2017).
Consuelo Salas recently presented a paper titled “Undergraduate FYW Program Philosophy: Foundation of an Independent Department” at the Association of Rhetoric and Writing Studies, which took place in El Paso, Texas
Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here is information about upcoming events.
Oct. 27 — Sigma Tau Delta and the Early Modern Paleography Society are sponsoring their “Haunted English Department Takeover” on Friday, October 27, from 4-7 p.m.
Nov. 14 — The Personally Speaking presentation featuring Paula Eckard will take place on Tuesday, November 14, 2017, at UNC Charlotte Center City. Paula’s presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m. A book signing and reception will follow her presentation. For more information and to RSVP, please click on the following link: https://exchange.uncc.edu/personally-speaking-looks-at-lostness-through-the-eyes-of-children/
Quirky Quiz Question — The upcoming EpicFest will take place at ImaginOn. This unique facility is jointly operated by two cultural organizations in Charlotte. Can you identify these two cultural organizations?
Last week’s answer: The Old Kentucky Home
Thomas Wolfe grew up in his mother’s boarding house in Asheville, North Carolina. Does anybody know the name of this boarding house at the time that Wolfe lived there?