Dining for a Difference
Throughout the year, friends of Mercy Learning Center open their hearts and homes to introduce their friends, neighbors, and colleagues to the mission of Mercy Learning Center. For more information on hosting an event or to receive an invitation to a Dining for a Difference event, contact Kathy Flynn Parisi.

Tutor Training
A one-day training workshop for new tutors who wish to begin tutoring will take place at MLC on January 14, February 4, and May 18 from 9am to 2pm. All materials are provided. For more information, contact Diane Holmes.

Field Trips
In an effort to expose women and their children to activities within their community, MLC plans field trips to the Beardsley Zoo, Seaside Park beach, and on a hike in June. For more information, contact Sharon Sanford.

Junior League of Eastern Fairfield County Helps MLC Students Get to the Core of Healthy Eating

The Junior League of Eastern Fairfield County piloted a new program to make fresh and affordable produce more accessible to twenty of the students at Mercy Learning Center. This innovative program provided an opportunity for our students to learn more about purchasing local fruits and vegetables at farm stands in greater Bridgeport neighborhoods and discover new ways to cook traditional meals in more healthful ways. To guarantee the success of this program, the League partnered with Analiese Paik, founder of the Fairfield Green Food Guide, an online resource for finding fresh, local and sustainably grown food, and Wholesome Wave Foundation, a non-profit founded to make locally-grown, sustainable foods available to all.

A new two-part "Healthy Eating" pilot program with Mercy Learning Center included the October field trip to the Marina Village Farmers Market where University of Connecticut nutrition expert Heather Harrington explained the benefits of having access to fresh, unprepared, locally grown fruits and vegetables and increase awareness and use of these neighborhood farmers markets. In November, Analiese Paik and members of the Junior League returned to Mercy Learning Center to present a cooking demonstration and tasting that allowed students to discover nutritious alternatives to commonly-used but heavily processed ingredients.

"This year, the League's community outreach programs focus on improving health, nutrition and literacy for women and children," says Susan Zaveruha, president, Junior League of Eastern Fairfield County. "We are astounded by the community involvement in this pilot program and hope we can extend to other students of Mercy Learning Center a similar opportunity to access a variety of fresh, local produce in Bridgeport."

International Literacy Day Is Observed at MLC

To bring to the forefront the need for literacy education in our community, Mercy Learning Center hosted its annual open house in observance of International Literacy Day on Tuesday, September 8th. This event highlighted the empowering role of literacy and the need to address adult education in our society. Before a light lunch and refreshments, the brief program included a welcome by Mercy Learning Center's Board Chair Beth Davis, followed by a message on the power of literacy and education by President and CEO Jane Ferreira, a testimonial by student Bless from Ghana who shared her joy in learning to read, write and speak English at Mercy Learning Center, and a presentation by keynote speaker Scott Hughes, Bridgeport's City Librarian. Hughes shared his personal story about having struggled while learning to read and encouraged the students in the audience to always reach for the next level of education. Local agency representatives, donors, members of the Board of Directors, and Mercy Learning Center's GED students, volunteers and friends were in attendance.

In addition to the program, guest readers from the area visited the Center's adult education classrooms. They included Frances Moore, Editor of the Fairfield Citizen News and the Westport News; Jamie Knoedler, Director of Education at the Barnum Museum; Elizabeth Marks Juviler, President of the Westport Young Woman's League; Tammy Roberts, President of the Weston Women's League; and Valerie Thompson, local radio station WEBE/WICC's Advertising Traffic Manager.

International Literacy Day was first observed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on September 8, 1967. According to UNESCO, "Literacy and Empowerment is the theme for the 2009-2010 biennium of the United Nations Literacy Decade." Countries throughout the world marked this day of awareness for the need for literacy training and the eradication of illiteracy on a global and local level.

Mercy Learning Center Awards Two High School Diplomas

At a special ceremony at Mercy Learning Center of Bridgeport in early September, Josephine Mason and Nallelis Morla, both of Bridgeport, were awarded high school diplomas after completing the National External Diploma Program (NEDP). One of four ways to earn a high school diploma or its equivalent, the NEDP allows mature adults to demonstrate high school level skills using life and work experiences to master 70 competencies to complete secondary education requirements. Before their family and friends, as well as fellow students at Mercy Learning Center and the staff and tutors who worked with them through this process, Josephine and Nallelis proudly received their high school diplomas and attended at a reception in their honor.

It wasn't enough for Jamaican-born Josephine to share in the pride of her six grown children's accomplishments. "Looking at all the achievement awards that I have in my house from my children I felt so inferior, and I vowed to myself that I would do something about it," she shared in an award-winning essay she wrote at Mercy Learning Center entitled, Mercy Learning Center Means a Path to Success. With a deep gratitude for the education and empowerment she received, she believes, "Mercy Learning Center has led many over the years, and is still leading many more to a brighter path through knowledge and education. Because of this, many have achieved the impossible - like going to college, better jobs and also getting employed. Because of this achievement, we gain self-respect and self-confidence, and we no longer think of ourselves as losers or invisible. Now we stand tall with heads held high, knowing the dreams many of us had can actually happen. It's no longer beyond our grasp." Josephine, a nursing assistant, was a student in the Center's part-time tutoring program for five years before entering the NEDP last year. At 61, she has a strong belief that one is never too old to learn. Her math tutor, Marianne Laska of Milford, and reading tutor, Lisa Isenman of Fairfield, shared their comments and beamed with pride at the graduation ceremony.

Nallelis, a single mother of a four-year-old daughter, came to the U.S. in 2003 from the Dominican Republic without having completed her formal education. She works two shifts as a bus driver in Fairfield, and because she needed to work, she was not able to attend traditional adult education classes. She was an ideal NEDP candidate. With tears in her eyes, Nallelis expressed her gratitude to Mercy Learning Center's NEDP assessors and her tutor, Jane Eyes of Westport, for helping her achieve her educational goals and encouraged other students in the audience to work to accomplish theirs. This 24-year-old ambitious woman became a U.S. citizen and, now that she has earned a high school diploma, plans to attend Housatonic Community College to study business management. Lynn Davies, the Program Facilitator at Mercy Learning Center, spoke of Nallelis' drive and determination and believes Nallelis will find success saying, "She is an excellent young woman who sets goals and reaches for them."