FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 18, 2005

CONTACT: Anne Murr, (515) 271-3982 or anne.murr@drake.edu
Daniel Finney, (515) 271-2833, daniel.finney@drake.edu

MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS TO WALK IN SUPPORT OF LITERACY

More than 20 students from Dallas Center-Grimes Middle School will walk in the third annual “Support the Right to Read Walk for Adult Literacy” on Friday, May 20, in downtown Des Moines.

Sixth-grade reading teacher LuAnn Schlafke, who also serves as a tutor at Drake University’s Adult Literacy Center, which sponsors the walk, organized the Dallas Center-Grimes students.

Any student who raised $100 was automatically invited to participate in the walk. Students who collected $10 or more were eligible to place their name in a drawing for a chance to attend.

“Volunteering at the center has been a very rewarding experience for me,” Schlafke said. “With my students at school, I often share my stories about my work with the student I’m tutoring at Drake. I am so impressed with her commitment and her desire to learn. She has provided me with new perspectives and insights on adult learners and the process of teaching someone to read from the very beginning.”

The awareness walk fits in well with the school district's emphasis on service-learning projects, Schlafke said. "Although participation is completely voluntarily, most students welcomed this chance to work for the benefit of others and to make a difference," she added.

The theme of this year’s walk will be “There’s a Place for Us.” Walkers will meet at 11:45 a.m. in Nollen Plaza at Third and Locust streets, then begin the walk in the downtown skywalk system in Capital Square at noon.

A rally will be take place in the Kaleidoscope Mall at 12:30 p.m. Adults who have benefited from the program will share their experiences and describe how the Drake Adult Literacy Center changed their lives. In addition, Michelle Swieter, Miss Johnson County, will sing “There’s a Place for Us” at the rally.

Proceeds from the walk will be used to operate the Drake Adult Literacy Center, which serves 70 clients and needs more volunteer tutors to meet the needs of the people on its waiting list. For more information about the center or the awareness walk, contact Anne Murr at (515) 271-3982 or anne.murr@drake.edu.

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