On Monday, September 13 LINC welcomed two new Civic Corp members to the team!
Gianna McGeough, Corporate and Individual Volunteer Member, and Jonah Adler, Volunteer Communications Member will be serving with LINC for the next ten months. Gianna and Jonah will both be growing our volunteer programs in a myriad of capacities.
As an undergraduate student at Columbia University, Gianna worked as a lead coordinator for the America Reads and America Counts (AR/AC) program at local public elementary schools in Harlem. Started in 1996, AR/AC serves as a tutoring initiative for ages 1 through 12 by giving children the personal attention they need to catch up and get ahead. In this role, Gianna developed a passion for supporting and promoting early literacy and community service. She created curriculum and tutor training materials, coordinated with public school staff to work with and provide space for the program, recruited and supervised student-tutors, and worked alongside her staff as a tutor during after-school sessions and teaching assistant during summer sessions. This work was immensely rewarding, as she was able to witness firsthand how supporting literacy helps children thrive academically and has a positive impact on their overall wellbeing. Gianna is currently completing her bachelor’s degree while concurrently serving with LINC through Americorps NYC Civic Corps. She is excited to serve as the Individual Volunteer and Corporate Member at LINC where she can learn more about management and development operations in the non-profit sector and combine her professional skills with her passion for literacy in order to help support LINC's mission.
As Corporate and Individual Volunteer Member, Gianna’s will help to expand both LINC’s volunteer parents program (Very Involved Parents, VIPs) and corporate philanthropy efforts.
Of her time at AR/AC, Gianna says, “My goal at America Reads was to prove to my students that academic success was within their reach, give them the tools and assistance to put the necessary work in, and guide them to realize that if they put the effort into it, their success academically could help change their lives for the better.”
After completing a bachelor’s degree at Dickinson College in 2018, Jonah worked as a communications fellow for Councilmember Ben Kallos of the 5th district of Manhattan. Elected in 2013, Ben Kallos represents the Upper East Side, Midtown East, Roosevelt Island and East Harlem along with all 8.6 million New Yorkers in the New York City Council. While working with the City Council, Jonah expanded his knowledge of the numerous non-profits and New York City agencies that provide millions of New Yorkers with a better quality of life and a more equitable society. He was responsible for advertising community events on social media as well as contributing to the district’s monthly newsletter. While writing for the communications team, Jonah also had opportunities to assist volunteer social workers by answering constituent casework phone calls. Some of his best experiences included going in-person to film protests calling to ban the use of Round-Up pesticide in NYC playgrounds, rallies for legislation of more early pre-k school seats, and ribbon cutting events for new pediatric facilities. These victories for New Yorkers inspired Jonah to continue to work for programs that improve the lives of children and families in the city. He is passionate about telling the stories of east side communities of New York and is excited to help expand media coverage for LINC and improve on his path in communication services.
Jonah’s promotional media skills will be a wonderful addition to LINC and we have great expectations for him as a part of our communications team. Jonah will provide internal and external communications support to enhance our volunteers’ engagement as well as develop and support LINC’s promotional efforts in order to position LINC as a leader in our communities.
On why he first chose to join LINC, Jonah said, "America is facing a literacy crisis -- a large number of American children are reading at a 5th grade level and are among the lowest in the world. Raising literacy levels will affect the future of millions of young Americans and I would like to help LINC address this issue in the city."
Welcome to LINC, Gianna and Jonah. We are thrilled to have your talent on the team and look forward to your contributions. So quoting the works of the late Dr. Seuss we extend to Jonah and Gianna: “You're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So... get on your way!”
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