Happy New Year!

NEW EIN WEB POSTINGS FOR JANUARY
Under MANAGING YOUR LLI
Curriculum Resources, Part VIII
Introducing SOS-Save Our Stories
Spring Courses – Senior Professionals, IL
Friday Study Groups – IRP, New York
ILR at a Retirement Village – Cedar Crest ILR, NJ
How to Celebrate a 10th Anniversary – LLI, VA
Brain Gains Through the Years – ALL, MA

Under UPCOMING CONFERENCES
New Information on the Midwest LLI Regional Conference

LLI News
LLI News for January

LLI Celebrations
LLI Celebrations for January

SAVE THE DATE/NEW INFORMATION
The Institute for Continued Learning (ICL) on the Robin Campus of Roosevelt University in Schaumburg, Illinois will be hosting the next Midwest Regional LLI conference from August 19-21, 2007. The theme of this conference is “Learning-Leadership-Innovation.” The conference will serve as a forum for LLI administrators, leaders and interested members to meet and share ideas, enthusiasm and friendship. See the EIN web site for updated information including the Announcement and Invitation Brochures, and the Proposal Instructions and Submission Form, which must be submitted to ICL by March 15, 2007. (New Deadline!) The ICL web site at www.roosevelt.edu/icl will soon have a section on the conference. You can also email the ICL at icl@roosevelt.edu for more details. Be sure to mark your calendars for this important conference which is open to all LLIs everywhere. This newsletter will have updates on a regular basis in the coming months.

UPDATE NE/EAST LLI CONFERENCE
SUNY Potsdam is pleased to host the Northeastern Lifelong Learning Conference at SUNY Potsdam June 3-5, 2007. the new conference title is “Soaring: Dreams to Adventures.” Conference materials will be available shortly on the web at www.potsdam.edu/soar
“Dreams to Adventures” will kick off the conference with a reception, conference welcome dinner and entertainment on the afternoon and evening of June 3. Classes will begin on Monday morning and conclude on Tuesday afternoon with the availability of pre- and post conference events for those who enjoy coming early and leaving later. The conference will be held in the Barrington Student Union on the SUNY Potsdam Campus and Campus housing is available for those who enjoy the Campus atmosphere as well as accommodations at several areas hotels and beds and breakfasts. Be sure to visit www.potsdam.edu/soar for more details. Please call Nancy Hess at 315-267-2168 for more information or email her at hessnl@potsdam.edu.

AARP BULLETIN ARTICLE
The December issue of the AARP Bulletin carried the article, “School Bonding,” which talks about lifelong learning for older adults. The box at the top of the article gave contact information for EIN. Thanks to that article we were swamped with callers, many of whom were directed to programs in their area. So your programs may be hearing from potential members seeking more information.

INTRODUCING ‘SAVE OUR STORIES®’
For 20 of their 32 years of marriage and life partnership, journalists Lew Little, 73, and Mary Ellen Corbett, 65, have been fine-tuning a writing project they now call Save Our Stories (SOS). They want to see as much national emphasis placed on the gathering and preservation of life stories as there is on rehabilitation of historic structures. They believe the time is right for the 2007 introduction of their Save Our Stories News Service, an ink-on-paper and online supplemental service that can be successful only with the blessing and participation of America’s elders -- the folks the couple identifies as “our nation’s endangered historians.” The secret to success, Corbett and Little say, lies in the amazing synergy that grows out of interaction linking seniors with students and teachers. Their news service hopes to initially recruit scores of volunteer stringers (part-time correspondents) from all 50 states and, eventually, from throughout the world.

The couple’s concept is a product of their extensive backgrounds. Little was instrumental in the 1972 introduction of The Christian Science Monitor News Service (CSMNS), and he was CSMNS national sales manager from 2002-04. He began his career in 1952 as a sportswriter and then as a California newspaper editor who entered the syndication field 10 years later. His best-known “discovery” for major syndicates is the world’s most widely-distributed comic strip, Cartoonist Jim Davis’s Garfield, launched in 1978. Corbett had her first piece published at the ripe old age of 9. She has experience in weekly and daily newspapers, magazines, and teaching college level journalism. She and her husband published an award-winning Arizona weekly for five years in the 1990s. They began their SOS project in 1986.

Be sure to read their introductory story about SOS on the EIN web site under the MANAGING YOUR LLI section, and check out their new, under-construction website, www.saveourstories.com. This project would make an excellent course for all types of LLI writing courses, especially those that deal with life stories, memoirs, etc., so be sure to visit their web site soon to learn how your program can participate.

A NEW SOURCE OF ENDOWMENT FUNDS FOR LLIS
Thanks to Lifelong Learning at Coastal Carolina University for supplying the following information. For those who are 70 1/2 or older a new provision of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 allows individuals to transfer funds as a rollover from their IRA (up to $100,000/year) to a public charity without paying tax on it. The transfer has to be completed before December 31, 2007. This is especially beneficial to those who don't itemize their tax deductions. It can also be of benefit for those wishing to make gifts larger than 50% of their adjusted gross income. What a great way to obtain endowment funds for your LLI.

ALR ESTABLISHES ANNUAL FUND DRIVE
The Executive Council of the Academy for Learning in Retirement at Empire State College in New York decided to undertake an annual fund drive, as many organizations do, to support the Academy. The drive will commence each fall and options will be provided to contribute to the Endowment Fund, the Scholarship Fund or the General Fund. The Endowment Fund is to expand the capacity and financial stability of ALR. The Scholarship Fund is to provide for tuition support for members with a financial need. The General Fund supports the annual operating budget of ALR.

A NEW SOURCE OF SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS
Around the Jewish Table, one of the spring 2006 seminars of Five College Learning in Retirement in Massachusetts, has produced a 30-page collection of recipes. The seminar of ten women (six Jewish, four not) gathered around the dining table of leader Serene Rubin of Amherst, MA, for ten two-hour sessions. At each session, one member brought dishes to share with the other members, along with recipes, research, and reminiscences. Although most recipes came from the Eastern European (Ashkenazi) tradition, the Mediterranean (Sephardic) tradition was also represented by presentations of Spanish and Italian Jewish cuisine. At the end of the seminar, Serene and several members brought all the recipes together and arranged for them to be printed. Now in a second printing, the proceeds from the sale of the cookbook are being given to the Five College Learning in Retirement Membership Assistance Fund.

ICL INCREASES COURSE FEES
The Executive Board of the Institute for Continuing Learning at Young Harris College in Georgia raised course fees for the first time in the 15-year history of the ICL. The extra funds will provide improved flexibility for the Curriculum Committee to continue offering a wide variety of classes. The eight-week course fee will be increased from $15 to $20 with a proportionate increase in fees for shorter courses.

GOLDEN EAGLES FITNESS PROGRAM
Members of the Center for Learning in Retirement at Rock Valley College in Rockford, Illinois are taking part in a three-month fitness program beginning this month. Designed specifically for CLIR members, the Golden Eagles Fitness Program is a joint collaboration between the Center for Learning in Retirement and the Division of Fitness, Wellness and Sport at Rock Valley College. The program provides CLR members the opportunity to exercise independently on a regular basis, under the supervision of expert staff from the fitness and sport medicine fields. Sessions are 90 minutes in duration between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Participants will have full use of all the equipment and facilities in the Physical Education Center at Rock Valley College.

COAT COLLECTION
The Institute for Retired Professionals at the New School in New York City joined with The New School to collect gently used coats through Friday, Dec. 15 at donation boxes in various building lobbies. Coats will be distributed to New Yorkers in need by New York Cares. The drive is sponsored by the Center for Student Leadership & Civic Engagement in the Office of Student Development and Activities.

WHAT A BOOK CAN DO
The Spring Colloquia at ENCORE: Center for Lifelong Enrichment in Raleigh, North Carolina will focus on the profound impact of the book Blood Done Sign My Name, by Tim Tyson. In this presentation/discussion Dr. Rupert Nacoste will give evidence of the book’s impact on students in his course “Interpersonal Relationships and Race.” To begin to develop an understanding of how this book touches readers, participants will explore the psychological structure of the memoir, its storytelling aspects and its use of and clarification of history.

GIVING BACK THROUGH TEACHING
Members of the Lifelong Learning program at Coastal Carolina in South Carolina, who were teaching professionals have three opportunities to give back within their community. Three Early First Reading Coach Positions are being offered through the Georgetown County United Way. They are: (1) Early Literacy Coach for Early Reading First Program - Guide teachers' professional development, early literacy instructional practices & support student assessment. Minimum Bachelor's degree in early childhood-Master's preferred; Ability to model scientifically based early literacy best practices and coach and mentor instructional staff; Experience in train-the-trainer approach to professional development strongly preferred.(2)Early Intervention Specialist for Early Reading First Program -Work to diagnose special needs students within the ERF Program, develop individual education plans for students and provide mentoring, modeling and coaching for our instructional staff on how to work with special needs populations. Need Master's degree in early childhood with at least 5 years experience working with special needs students.
(3) Bilingual Early Childhood Paraprofessional for Early Reading First Program -Assist Billingual Early Childhood Teacher. Associates Degree professional with at least 5 years experience working with early childhood programs. What a great opportunity for qualified LLI members to give back and really contribute to their community.

LITERACY FOR GLOBALISTS PROJECT
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at American University in Washington, DC has made available an eight-week study group, complete with a web site and study guide. The Literacy for GlobalistsTM (LFG) Project is a citizen self-education program in a multi-media, E-Learning format, created to promote understanding of global issues within the U.S. population. LFG seeks to empower Globalists to engage, broaden, and enrich a national discussion of U.S. foreign policy, supplementing the input of national media and policy makers by including the voices of families, neighbors, colleagues, spiritual communities, and other civic groups. For more information visit http://nw08.american.edu/~jfran/. My thanks to Kali Lightfoot, Director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Network for this information.

THE PERFECT PRESENT!
The Academy for Lifelong Learning on Cape Cod offered members a special stocking stuffer last month. For $15, members were able to buy a “beefcake” calendar with photos of daring male, A.L.L. members. The calendars were a hilarious presentation designed to make members smile (or laugh out loud). Proceeds from the calendar went to fund the A.L. L. Founders’ Memorial Scholarship.

NEW BOOKS FOR LLI COURSES
Thanks to the Lifelong Learning Book Club at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina for this suggestion.
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. This book is a brilliantly written family drama that explores every mother's silent fear: what would happen if you lost your child and she grew up without you? On a stormy night in 1964, DR David Henry is forced by a blizzard to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy. When his daughter is born, he sees immediately that she has Down's Syndrome. To protect his wife Norah, he makes a split second decision that will alter all of their lives forever. He asks his Nurse to take the baby away to an institution and never to reveal the secret. But Caroline, the nurse, cannot leave the Infant. Instead, she disappears into another city to raise the child herself. So begins this beautifully told story that unfolds over quarter of a century in which these families, ignorant of each other, are yet bound by David Henry's fateful decision that log-ago winter night.

NEW WEB SITES FOR LLI COURSES

GEORGE ORWELL MATERIALS AT BROWN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY –
http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/University_Library/libs/hay/collections/orwell/
This site presents information about "one of the largest and most important gatherings of ... material in private hands" relating to author George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair). The site features commentary about and images from texts by Orwell, including "Down and Out in Paris and London," "Animal Farm," and "Nineteen Eighty-Four." From Special Collections at Brown University Library.

GEORGE ORWELL'S FIRST CENTURY 1903-2003 -
http://www-hoover.stanford.edu/hila/orwell.htm
This site is a companion to a 2003 exhibit commemorating the centennial of author George Orwell's birth. The site includes brief biographical information and annotated images of works by and related to Orwell (such as "Homage to Catalonia," "Animal Farm," and "Nineteen Eight-Four"). From the Hoover Institution Library and Archives at Stanford University.

BIOTECH ADVENTURE - http://biotech-adventure.okstate.edu
This site is designed to present the factual information regarding biotechnology in a way that will entertain both students and adults. The site features video clips on topics such as
cloning and forensics, and introductory information about cells, cell reproduction, genetics, DNA replication, proteins, and related topics. Includes illustrations. From Oklahoma State
University.

BOOKPAGE - http://www.bookpage.com/
This online version of the monthly publication features brief reviews of new general interest nonfiction, fiction, science fiction, mysteries, romance, children's books, and audio books.
Also includes author interviews, book club recommendations, and special interest lists (such as Black History Month and holidays). Aimed at librarians, booksellers, and consumers, it is archived and searchable back to January 1996.

CRAFTING FREEDOM: AFRICAN AMERICANS, 1800-1870 -
http://www.culver.org/academics/infolit/Faculty/foleyd/Teacher_files/craftingfreedom/cfindex.htm
This site's goal is to serve as a guide on how to research lesser-known black Americans, the slave and free, to get a broader understanding of African American living and working
environment between 1800 and 1870. Includes materials and links to sources on topics such as historical analysis, bibliography, photographs, and primary sources (such as vital records and insurance maps). Includes sample presentations. Part of the Thomas Day Education Project.

That’s all for this month.
Nancy Merz Nordstrom, M.Ed.
Elderhostel Institute Network
Nancy.merz-nordstrom@elderhostel.org
www.elderhostel.org/ein/intro.asp
617-457-5564

“It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it well.”
…Rene Descartes