Education
and Enrichment Department
Elizabeth A. Lake, Program Director
1008 Stanton-Lebanon Road
Lebanon, NJ 08833
Phone: (908) 236-7874
E-Mail:
Committee Members Genevieve and Bruce Sliker P.O. Box 402
Califon, NJ 07830 Brenda Muhlbaier
9 Russell Mill Road
Woolrich Township, NJ 08086 Donna Waters
431 Pemberton Road • P.O. Box 47
Juliustown, NJ 08042
Building Blocks for a Strong Grange
Strengthening and revitalizing our Granges is an essential building block to ensure the future of our organization and good Grange programs are a vital block for a strong, successful Grange.
How strong is your Grange? A strong Grange needs to continually work to build up their Grange and promote their work out in their community! Upon the Program Director falls the responsibility of helping their Grange to be strong and to meet the needs of their Community and its residents with programs that provide variety and substance, spark interest, keep members involved and also provide entertainment and educational value. Strive to have no more than one poem type reading at each meeting.
Program Directors are encouraged to secure
outside speakers for programs, while other programs can be developed
for in-house presentation, with members participating in the
presentation. All programs should be well balanced with informative
materials and substance, leaving members feeling that they would
have missed an interesting and informative program had they not been
there. Programs should generally be between 20 minutes and 40
minutes in length. Longer programs are appropriate for special
occasions or celebrations. Shorter programs are necessary when time
is critical.
Interesting and informative programs will help
your Grange to answer the needs of your community. We need to
attract new members, keep current members active and bring inactive
members out. Programs well planned in advance and publicized,
inviting the community to attend, will truly help your Grange have a
strong future for the betterment of your community.
Mission Statement
The mission of this
department is to focus on the education and enrichment of our Grange
members, as well as the citizens of our communities. Our goals are
to encourage the promotion and publicity of our organization in an
appealing manner to prospective members, interest our members, attract our inactive
members, and interact with other associated organizations.
2009 - 2010 Calendar of Important Dates Please watch The Gleaner, your quarterly newsletter and mailings
for reminders and details as event dates approach.
Date
Event
April 1, 2010
Deadline for Essay Contest
April 17-18, 2010
Spring Fling Weekend Bus Trip
May 14-16, 2010
Mid-Atlantic Lecturer’s Conference – Holiday Inn Select, Swedesboro, New Jersey
June 12, 2010
Tentative date for 4th Annual Grange Day at the New Jersey Museum of Agriculture
June 25-27, 2010
Bus Trip to Washington, DC; 50th Anniversary Celebration of National Grange Headquarters
September 25-26, 2010
Fall Weekend Bus Trip
Community Concerns
It is important to maintain your good health to help build your Grange. A Grange is only as strong as its members and members acquire their strength from good health. Invite the community to join your Grange for a healthy program. Some suggested topics are:
•
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Awareness
•
Sleep Disorder Awareness
•
Mental Health Awareness
•
Skin Care Awareness
•
Vision Health Awareness
•
Stress Awareness
•
Allergy and Asthma Awareness
•
Stroke Awareness
•
Mold Awareness
•
Drug Awareness
Community Awareness
Build community awareness about your grange by having a Community Night this year. Grange Month is an excellent time, but so is every other month of the year when it comes to building and promoting your Grange! A successful evening will be achieved when you build upon the ideas of your members. Have a meeting to plan the event, send out invitations to other organization in your community as well as to residents of the community, friends and neighbors. Send press releases to newspapers serving your community, announcing and inviting everyone to attend the event. Plan a special program of entertainment and education for the enjoyment of all attending. This is also an excellent time to recognize the accomplishments of members of other organizations such as police, rescue squad and fire departments. If presentations are made, take pictures of the recipients and have follow-up publicity. Set-up a display in your hall focusing the activities, projects and events of your Grange and, if possible, have a computer slideshow with special pictures.
On-line Chat
Calling all Program
Directors and interested Grangers! Tune into the Education and
Enrichment Department’s on-line chat on the first Sunday of each
month at 5:00 PM. This department has its own chat room, located
here,
for use as a program tool and a means to communicate with each other
and share program ideas. Our on-line chats will begin on Sunday,
January 3, 2010 and occur on the first Sunday of every month
thereafter. A transcript of the chat will be furnished
to those participating or those who do not have on-line access.
Please mark your calendar for each month and come chat with us!
Program Materials Available
This department is willing to assist you with the preparation of a
program that you feel would help your Grange and meet the needs of your Community. Please send me your requested subject and
any ideas or pertinent information you have. A program will be
developed and returned to you by mail. A roster of programs will be
developed and published in our newsletter so that other Program
Directors may benefit from your ideas.
Bi-Monthly
Newsletter
This department will
continue to send out our bi-monthly newsletter, Timely Tidbits, this
coming year, offering program information, ideas and tips and bits
that we hope you will be able to use for your Grange and build-up your membership, building upon today’s issues. If
you have an idea for a program you would like to see included in an
upcoming issue, please contact Elizabeth Lake.
The Dictionary Project
The Education and
Enrichment Department is continuing the Dictionary Project for 2010.
This project is designed to provide a dictionary for third grade
students. The ideal of the program is to aid third grade teachers in
their goal to see all their students leave at the end of the year as
good writers, active readers and creative thinkers. This ideal can
be reached by providing third grade students with their personal
dictionary for use during the year, which they keep and take with
them into the fourth grade and throughout their school career.
A dictionary is perhaps the first and
most powerful tool that a child should own. Its usefulness goes
beyond the spellings, pronunciations and definitions it lists; it is
a companion for solving problems that arise as a child develops his
or her reading, writing, and creative thinking abilities. Students
benefit from an increased self-reliance and resourcefulness inspired
by the maxim “look it up”.
This program is an opportunity for children to
expand their vocabulary and for many, to actually own their own
dictionary. We in the Grange believe strongly in community service,
and the power of the gift resides in the giving. We would like to
see each Grange take on this project and give one dictionary for
each third grade student in your local school. Dictionaries can be
secured by contacting The Dictionary Project, P.O. Box 1845, Charleston, SC
29402, 843-856-2706, or at
www.dictionaryproject.org.
There are a couple of different dictionaries available, at a cost of
$1.25 to $2.00 per dictionary.
If you would like to participate in this
project and need assistance in contacting your school or securing
dictionaries, please contact Elizabeth Lake at (908) 236-7874; 1008
Stanton-Lebanon Road, Lebanon, New Jersey 08833.
Literature Recycling
The Education and
Enrichment Department will continue the collection of new or like
new children’s books to be donated to the Children’s Home Society of
New Jersey for their FACES (Family and Children Early Education
Services) Literary Program – a fun with books interactive reading
program for Foster Children. If you are unable to collect books,
small monetary donations will be accepted to purchase new books for
the children. Books may be donated to this department at any Grange
activity. Books will be distributed as accumulated.
Gallivanting
Grangers on the Go
The Education and Enrichment Department will be sponsoring the
following bus trips in 2010. They are: April 17-18, 2010: Spring Fling Weekend Bus Trip June 25-27, 2010: Bus trip to Washington, DC – 50th Anniversary Celebration of National Grange Headquarters September 25-26, 2010: Fall Weekend Bus Trip
Arrangements are being made for the trips. Be sure to watch the
Gleaner for reservation for and details of each trip as time draws
near.
Mid-Atlantic
Program Director’s Conference
The 2010
Mid-Atlantic Program Director’s Conference is scheduled for May 14-16, 2010 and will be New Jersey at the Quality Inn and Grand Versailles Conference Center in Holiday Inn Select, Swedesboro, New Jersey.
Rusty Hunt, National Grange Leadership/Membership Director, will be with us and will be presenting information on building Grange membership through programming. Other workshops and activities are planned to benefit the program director and all Grangers interested in building better programs, strengthening their Granges and Grange membership.
Please mark your calendar and plan to join
with us, as well as Grangers from the surrounding Mid-Atlantic
States, for a fun-filled, educational and informative weekend. You
do not have to be a program director to attend!
Grange Day at
the NJ Museum of Agriculture
June 12, 2010 is the
tentative date for our 3rd annual Grange Day at the New Jersey
Museum of Agriculture. Our day will start at 10:00 AM and end at
2:00 PM. Different activities, displays and programs are already
being planned. Come and enjoy a day of fellowship with friends,
reminisce on days gone by and enjoy lunch compliments of the New Jersey
State Grange. More details will follow in mailings and in The Gleaner.
New Jersey
State Grange Essay Contest
The Education and Enrichment Department will be
conducting an open essay contest. Entries must be at least 300 words
in length, and may not exceed 500 words. Our contest is open to
non-members and there are two categories, one for high school
students and one for adults.
The Student Topic for the 2010 contest is:
What is the most important milestone in your life?
The Adult Topic for the 2010 contest is:
Looking back at your life thus far, what accomplishment are you most proud of?
The deadline for submission is April 1, 2010. All entries
must include the author’s name, address, county of residence, phone number,
word count, and designate if student or
adult division. (If student division, include school name and
grade.)
Judging will be based on the following criteria:
Content: 55 pointsOriginality: 30 pointsClarity: 10 pointsGrammar: 5 points
Prizes will be awarded for
each class as follows:
First Place: $50.00Second Place: $40.00Third Place: $30.00
Send all entries to Elizabeth Lake, 1008 Stanton-Lebanon Road,
Lebanon, NJ 08833
Program of
the Year
Share with us a program
presented this year that you felt was strong and help build your Grange. Your program can be based on any
subject and can be most unusual or unique. There will be two program
categories, one for programs which included an outside speaker and
one for programs that were presented in-house by the Program
Director and Grange members. For the speaker category, please
provide a brief synopsis of the information presented, as well as
any other program materials for the evening. For the in-house
program category, please provide the information for the evening
program. If available, please include a picture from the program and the number of members you involved. If available, please include a picture from the evening.
Please include your name and Grange name with
your program information, as well as date program was presented. All
programs are due by noon on the opening day of state session.
A booklet of all programs will be distributed to all those
participating in this project.
Snapshot Contest
Share with others
the memories in your life by entering your photographs in our
snapshot contest. Entries can be a snapshot of minimum size 3"x5",
and up to 8"x10". Although not required, entries may be backed or
matted.
There will be two divisions: standard processing (35mm film or
digital pictures with standard processing and no computer
enhancement); computer aided photographs (photographs that have been
enhanced or altered via computer assistance).
Please include your name and Grange name with your snapshot and
indicate whether commercial processing or computer aided. All
entries are due by noon on the opening day of state session.
Decorated Door Contest
Let’s jazz up the
doors to our hotel rooms with a little decoration! Use any type of
decorations you desire to be creative and decorate the door and/or
door frame to make them attractive and festive. All decorations must
be affixed with suction cups or masking tape (must be non-damaging
to paint/wallpaper), which we will supply. There will be two classes
for judging: Holiday and General. Monetary prizes
will be awarded in each class. (A great place to shop for the
decorations is your local Dollar Store.)
Scrapbook Contest
Scrapbooks are a fantastic way to preserve your family memories and showcase the special events and important times in your life. Share with us your scrapbook of memories by submitting an entry to our scrapbook contest with a complete scrapbook or individual scrapbook pages. Entries will be judged separately in three separate classes: Complete scrapbooks; Individual page/pages (maximum of 5 individual pages); Grange memories. All entries are due by noon on the opening day of state session.
Reservation Form
If you would like to make reservations to
attend any of our 2010 bus trips, please take a moment to submit the form below. (* =
required information.)
