Posted by Colleen Kaminsky, ATS Senior
This past Saturday evening was the fundraising event of the year for Cleveland’s Project: LEARN, and Zinner & Co. represented itself well. The event is the Alphabet Affair, and this year was brought to you by the letter “Q”. Q was the inspiration for the entire evening, from the quail leg and deviled quail egg hors d’oevres, to the quiet auction and the quirky costumes. The scene was quaint at Sammy’s in the flats, and everyone had a great time supporting a wonderful cause.
Project: LEARN is an adult literacy center for the greater Cleveland area. Its purpose is to teach basic skills to adults. What started as a small storefront in 1974, teaching adults how to read and write, has become a multi-dimensional organization helping over 9,000 local adults reach their education goals. Project: LEARN offers free, private and individualized lessons for adults who read below a third grade level. In addition, programs are offered to help adults get their GED, learn workplace skills and teach basic level classes for corrections inmates. It is hard enough tackling an issue like adult literacy when all of the funding and support required are readily available. It is a much more difficult task to face when already strained resources are diverted to attract public donations and dedicated volunteers.
Difficult, yes. Impossible, no! Events like this year’s Alphabet Affair are what keep Project: LEARN’s mission of “Literacy for Every Adult” an ongoing effort. Supporters showed up quite stylishly as Q-tips, quantum physicists, quotes, quarterbacks, Quakers, and even quintuplets! Team Zinner brought home the group win in the costume contest for the second year in a row dressed as questions. Five Zinner employees and their spouses dressed up as pop-culture questions such as: Who squeezed the Charmin? Where’s the beef? Coke or Pepsi? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie pop? Deal or No Deal? Got milk? Where’s Waldo? And What would you do for a Klondike bar? Last but not least, a pregnant employee dressed in pink and blue had the question of Boy or Girl? all over her tummy. It was really the handiwork of Christina Goertler and her question mark headbands that set us apart and snatched us the win.
As a recent addition to Zinner & Co., the Alphabet Affair was especially meaningful to me. It is not easy to find a working environment that aligns with your personal principles and ideologies, but I think I’ve found mine. I am so happy to work for a firm that puts a primary focus on highlighting and supporting the organizations that accomplish so much and ask for so little. Also, the teamwork and energy that went into preparing for the event was amazing. The group of employees that attended the event put so much dedication, creativity and collaboration into the preparations. I had a wonderful time getting to know my coworkers on another level, and I had quite a good time at the event!
For more information about Project: LEARN, and to find out how you can become a part of the fight against adult literacy, please visit their website at http://www.projectlearn.org/index.htm.
