What's New @ Mercy Learning Center

Upcoming Events \ What's New \ Opportunities

UPCOMING EVENTS

MLC awarded Neighborhood Builder Award!
On the evening of Monday, November 7, 2011, Mercy Learning Center staff and Board members gathered for the awards ceremony for the Bank of America 2011 Neighborhood Excellence Initiatives. Mercy Learning Center is honored to be chosen as one of this year’s Neighborhood Builders. Through this grant initiative, Mercy Learning Center will receive $200,000 in unrestricted funding and leadership development training to help create opportunities for those in need. Mercy Learning Center will use these funds to support our literacy and life skills programs and contribute to the success of capacity building expansion of our programs. We express a special thank you to Bank of America and everyone who helps us meet our mission to “Educate a woman… Educate a family.”

Bill Tommins, President Bank of America - Fairfield County, presents the Neighborhood Builder Award to MLC President & CEO Jane Ferreira.

Mercy Learning Center staff and Board members attended the Bank of America award ceremony held at the Palace Theater in Stamford, CT.

View of the Harbor
Mercy Learning Center held its signature fundraiser, A View of the Harbor, on Sunday, October 2, at the Country Club of Fairfield. This year’s event was chaired by Lorraine Wilson of Monroe, who was supported by an enthusiastic committee. A View of the Harbor featured an elegant cocktail party with magnificent live and silent auctions, a presentation about the Center, testimonials from a volunteer tutor and a student, and the opportunity to socialize amid the breathtaking sound views. Generous contributions from our dedicated supporters helped to make this a successful event. Thank you for making this a great way to jump-start our fundraising for the year.

Lorraine Wilson, View of the Harbor committee Chair, with Cindi Bigelow and Donna Twist

The Comings and Goings of MLC Board Members
Mercy Learning Center’s Board of Directors is grateful to four Directors who will be departing from the Board as of June 30. They are Beth Davis of Fairfield, Dr. Jim Roach of Bridgeport, Jackie Cutrone and Michael McAlevey both of Westport. Jim, a former tutor, will stay involved with MLC’s Outreach Committee, and Beth, a tutor and member of the Finance, Nominating, Facilities, and special events committees will continue her service in these roles. In July, the Board of Directors will welcome five new members. They are John Armstrong of New Haven, Ann Calcutt of Fairfield, Peter Krieg of Weston, Sharon Poole of Easton, and Terry-Ann Jones of Bridgeport. Jaci Coleman will become the Past Chair. Susan Burstein will assume the role of Board Chairperson, while Polly Edwards will be Secretary, Michele Williams will remain Treasurer, and Tammy Barry will be Vice Chair.

Recognition Reception
Mercy Learning Center of Bridgeport held its annual Recognition Reception on Friday, May 27th to celebrate the accomplishments of its students during the 2010-11 academic year. Another 22 names – the most graduates in one year – were added to the Center’s list of graduates who have earned a high school or General Educational Development (GED) diploma since last June. These names mark a total of 99 graduates since the GED preparation program (2003) and National External Diploma (NEDP) (2008) began. Hundreds of full- and part-time students were awarded certificates for their academic and technology achievements in the Center’s English as a Second Language (ESL), Adult Basic Education (ABE) Levels I and II, and General Educational Development (GED) preparation classes as well as its tutoring program. Several students were recognized for earning U.S. citizenship this year, and beamed with pride as they led the Pledge of Allegiance at the ceremony.

Author Cindy Brown Austin was the guest speaker. Raised in Hartford’s Charter Oak Terrace housing projects, she related to the struggles faced by the Center’s low-income student population. She is the author of By the Rivers of Babylon, for which she received recognition from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists, Connecticut Commission on the Arts, and the New York Times. She inspired MLC’s students to continue to pursue education and achieve their dreams.

In addition to honoring the adult learners, the Center’s volunteers were recognized. Volunteer tutors being honored for their years of service include Ed Buckmir of Stratford for 10 years as a math tutor. Also recognized were five-year volunteers Lynn Bannister of Stratford, Ed Bocuzzi and Ann Calcutt both of Fairfield, Cathryn Cornell of Bridgeport, Kate Daniello of Fairfield, Jane Doyle of Westport, Amy Feinman of Weston, Gail Feldman of Fairfield, Laura Iaia of Trumbull, Jean Kaiser of Westport, David Kernis of Trumbull, Mara O’Brien of Fairfield, Carolyn Verna of Trumbull, and Sarah Wallace of Fairfield. Mercy Learning Center staff members Linda Ashby of Fairfield and Diane Holmes of Westport who celebrated five years at the Center were also recognized. The reception’s food was donated by the Westport Chapter of the National Charity League, coordinated by Tammy Barry of Westport.

With gratitude for Beth Davis’ service to Mercy Learning Center over the past six years, the Beth B. Davis Scholarship was created this year to honor Ms. Davis who is completing her six-year term on the Board of Directors, three years of which she served at Chairperson. She also serves an tutor and a member of several subcommittees of the Board. This year’s Beth B. Davis Scholarship was awarded to a worthy student, Dianne, a GED graduate who will enter college in the fall.

Among the guests who attended the Recognition Reception were its Board of Directors, local donors, political figures, corporate partners, volunteers, and more than 250 students. This special celebration underscored the need for adult literacy training and the difference Mercy Learning Center is making in eliminating illiteracy and poverty in the greater Bridgeport community.

Mercy Learning Center’s 2010-11 Graduates

Beth B. Davis Scholarship Presentation – (l to r) Mercy Learning Center’s President/CEO Jane Ferreira, Beth Davis, MLC Graduate Dianne, and Beth’s husband and MLC tutor Andy Gleeman