Cornell team harvests three bins of magazines for new readers

Cornell Magazine Harvest

Helene Beauchemin at Cornell University reports that their Magazine Harvest has yielded three bins of magazines for recycling to new readers in shelters and literacy programs. Next, the magazines will be sorted and packaged up for delivery.  In addition to this project, Helene has helped to found and manage our Magazine Literacy Ambassador program and Facebook page.  Great work team!

The Perfect Match

Hello everyone! My name is Helene Beauchemin, currently a sophomore at Cornell University, and I have something exciting to share.  As part of the college bound summer ritual, you are supposed to search for a great internship that will allow you to have a good glimpse as to what lies ahead in your career.

Not only did I find a great internship, but also a very meaningful and rewarding one.  No hefty paychecks or exotic trips, something bigger than that, a great non-profit organization that shares my passion about magazines.

Through volunteer efforts, MagazineLiteracy.org, led by Mr. Mennell, connects volunteers willing to collect, sort and distribute used and new magazines, with agencies, schools and other organizations whose clients can benefit from the simple format and great photography that magazines present to their readership.  These are people whose resources don’t allow ready access to magazines, but when presented with them, they enjoy them greatly and improve their literacy.

My job is to create the Magazine Literacy Ambassador platform that will coordinate these volunteer groups and the continuous flow of magazines and donations to those in need at the grass roots level. I have started working on the logistics for the creation of these community teams in my residential area Rockland County.  I have sent out e-mails to agencies whose members may benefit from receiving the magazines containing information on our organization and a quick questionnaire that I developed to better understand and serve their needs and wants.

I have also created a facebook group called Magazine Literacy Ambassadors where our volunteers can share a forum to exchange ideas and improve their efforts.  I have already contacted a few extraordinary young adults who have played a major role in their community gathering and distributing books and magazines.  I know that they will be a great contribution to our efforts, and the next step will be expanding this group to anyone passionate about magazines and helping others by providing them with an outlet of knowledge and entertainment and a relief from their daily lives.