River Walk Journal, Inc. Board of Directors Chairman - Elizabeth Ross Vice Chairman - Joseph Koch Secretary/Treasurer - Geri Stock-Ross Editorial Director - Patti Kurtz, DA Literacy Director - Kenneth Weiss, Ed.D Policy Director - PA State Rep. Jess Stairs Advisory Board Chairman - Patti Kurtz, DA Asst. Chairman - Dan Lachenman, PhD Samuel Hazo Christopher Leland Edwin Yoder Joseph Bathanti Journal Staff Publisher - Elizabeth Ross Editor-In-Chief - Joseph Koch Senior Editor - Patti Kurtz Senior Editor - Neeldhara Misra Copyeditor - Kathy Skaggs Blog Contributing Editor - Maggie Koster Education Blog Contributing Editor - Jordan Wirfs-Brock Publicity Director (PA) - Geri Stock-Ross For information about submissions, visit http://www.riverwalkjournal.org/subs.html. Questions about promotions, subscribers' services, and advertising should be sent to publisher@riverwalkjournal.org. River Walk Journal, Inc. is a non-profit corporation run entirely by volunteers. For information about volunteer opportunities and internships, visit VolunteerMatch.

Literacy Action Beyond publishing a bi-monthly literary journal, River Walk Journal, Inc. is engaged in literacy work. Books have been acquired for Shuman Detention Center School in Pittsburgh, PA, and fundraising efforts are beginning to include the next stage of this program. It is our goal to provide books for all children receiving services from Allegheny County CYF each year. Currently our organization can acquire $4 retail worth of books for each dollar donated, and we will continue to do everything we can to maintain or improve this average. Giving children just a single book each year may not seem like much. According to FirstBook.org, that couldn't be further from the truth. The number of books made available to children in the household is the only indicator with direct relation to reading skill improvement. The more books children have available to them, the better. Books in homes is a good start, and RWJ, Inc. intends to stay for the next step - community literacy programs. Many literacy programs already exist in the Allegheny County area, but most of them are child-focused. Increasingly, research is showing that family-based literacy programs are more effective. We intend to help existing programs improve their offerings, and when needed, start new programs. To accomplish these goals RWJ, Inc. will need the assistance of the community and other organizations. Whether it is a simple cash donation, or agreeing to do a fundraiser within your own organization, you can help to improve the reading skills of children in the Allegheny County area. Perhaps your office keeps a jar for a coffee fund, and your co-workers are willing to donate their brew money for a good cause. Maybe your child's classroom or sports team is willing to wash cars or sell candy bars so other kids can have books to read. Ministers may be willing to have an extra collection one Sunday to benefit local children. There are many fundraising ideas that are possible, and most of them would take only a little time and money - but that money would go a very long way... For information on becoming a part of the next step in educational improvement in Allegheny County, contact Elizabeth at publisher@riverwalkjournal.org.