The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy

"The home is the child's first school, the parent is the child's first teacher,and reading is the child's first subject." - Barbara Bush

Last month, in our profile of former first lady Barbara Bush, we mentioned that she is currently serving as head of the The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. The Foundation has been going strong for twenty years, helping families realize the importance of literacy and helping parents and children learn to read together by supporting the development and expansions of family literacy programs across the country. They award competitive grants to nonprofit organizations, correctional institutions, homeless shelters, schools, school districts, libraries, and community and faith-based agencies. Since 1989, they have awarded over $32 million to 723 family literacy programs in all 50 states and Washington D.C.

The Barbara Bush Foundation began awarding grants in 1990, receiving applications from all over the country. In September of that year, they awarded eleven different grants totaling over $500,000. By September 2007, the foundation had benefited over 650 programs, many of which still serve their communities today. In January 1996, the Foundation began launching statewide literacy grant programs. The first state to receive the grants was Maine. Partnering with the Maine Department of Education, the Foundation has awarded grants to 166 family literacy programs in schools and community organizations.

In February 1996, the Foundation launched another statewide program entitled "The First Lady's Family Literacy Initiative for Texas" which has awarded 118 grants to programs in over 65 Texas cities. Mrs. Bush's daughter-in-law, former first Lady Laura Bush is the Honorary Chair of this initiative. The grants from this program have been given to community-based organizations, libraries, charter schools, pediatric medical clinics, Head Start and Even Start programs, as well as many others. Because of this initiative, more adults are learning English and getting their GEDs, obtaining better jobs, reading to their children, and becoming more involved in their children's school and home lives.

In 1999, the Foundation's efforts move to Florida with the "Governor's Family Literacy Initiative for Florida." Mrs. Bush's son, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, serves as Honorary Chair of this program which has awarded grants to over 151 programs throughout Florida.

In addition to the grants and statewide programs, in 1995, the Foundation started "A Celebration of Reading." The annual fundraiser, which began in Houston and is now held each year in Texas, Maryland, and Florida, features readings from best-selling authors and members of the Bush family. Proceeds benefit the foundation. Participants in the fundraiser have included Mary Higgins Clark, James Patterson, Reba McEntire, Patricia Cornwell, and Mary Tyler Moore among dozens of other authors.

Mrs. Bush has called literacy "the most important issue we have" and has worked tirelessly to promote the importance of not just reading, but reading as a family, during and even after her very public life. She has accredited her own family for her love of reading, saying that some of her fondest memories are of her family gathered around each other during the evenings, engrossed in their own reading.

Debra Medina: Dark Horse in Texas

As the 2010 Texas Governor's race heats up, you've probably heard of at least two big names vying for the position: current Governor Rick Perry, who is running for an unprecedented third term, and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson. But you my not have heard of candidate Debra Medina, a favorite amongst conservatives and libertarians who are tired of the same old ways of doing things and looking for new leadership (and smaller government) in Texas.

Medina isn't your typical politician, running to further her own career. She is running to have an impact on the state of Texas and its people. Instead of a resume padded with fancy political titles that mean nothing, Medina brings to the table the determination, worth ethic, and the desire to return the role of government back to the "Constitutional Republic" the Founding Fathers meant it to be. At a recent Tea Party in Burleson, Texas, Medina spoke of just that,

"While many of the Tea Parties around Texas have focused on what's happening in Washington, DC, and that's easy to do, we see us as us and them as them...I've got to come on the heels of that and ask us to remember that government starts right here, first. It starts at the school boards and it starts at the city councils and it starts at the commissioner's courts. And we train our politicians as they serve us in those capacities how we want them to behave as elected officials. It's important for all of us to remember the proper role of government. Any of us that are students of history see that's what happening in Washington DC right now is not fixing the problem, it is making it worse...we need to remember what the proper role of government is and we need to start asking each other not just how we shift the tax burden from one place to another but what service is your local government providing that would be more appropriately provided by the family or the church or the community."

So who is Debra Medina? According to her website, Medina's hometown is Beeville, Texas and she is married with two children, ages 23 and 19. When she's not involved in politics, she enjoys cooking, gardening, horseback riding, and reading. Medina received a nursing degree from Baptist Memorial Hospital System in 1984 and a Bachelors degree in Business Management from Le Tourneau University in 1995. She is currently the President and CEP of Prudentia, Inc., a medical claims management and legal consulting firm. Medina serves as the Chairman of the Republican Party of Wharton County, Texas and is the State Coordinator for Ron Paul's "Campaign for Liberty." She is also a member of the Wharton Rotary Club.

Medina maintains a blog on her website where she stays in tough with her supporters by posting her thoughts on big issues - everything from taxes to the swine flu - and talks about her political ideology and other activities she is involved with. Recently, she has written about her displeasure with SB 855, a bill making its way through the Texas Senate. According to her blog, the bill

"allows local communities to call elections to raise taxes and fees to pay for light rail, roads, and hike & bike trails...the bill also establishes a progressive income funding structure, an income tax."

Medina asks her readers to keep this in mind when they go to the polls on the now passed May 9th election day and during future elections. You can watch the rest of her Tax Day Tea Party Speech here:

Elizabeth Ames Jones - Texas Railroad Commissioner

When you think of Republican women holding a political office, "Railroad Commissioner" is probably not the first position that comes to mind, but you haven't met Elizabeth Ames Jones, yet. Ames Jones was appointed to be the Railroad Commissioner of Texas in 2005 by Governor Rick Perry, and in 2006, she was elected to serve a six year term in office. She is only the second woman to serve the Commission in its 118 year history. This comes after being elected three times to the Texas House of Representatives.

While serving the Texas Legislature, Ames Jones served as one of three Texas appointees to the Southern States Energy Board and Chairman of the Budget and Oversight for the Energy Resources Committee. She also served on several other committees such as the Appropriations, Local and Consent Calendars, and Select School Finance. She led the way to establish the Texas Cord Blood Bank in San Antonio which stores and provides umbilical cord stem cells to treat various diseases. In December, Ames Jones spoke at Valley Baptist Medical Center, which has collected over 3,000 cord blood donations, about the importance of cord blood,

"This is an issue that is very near and dear to my heart," Jones said. "I've had family and friends experience medical tragedies in their lives with life-threatening cancers. Some did not survive. In honor of those, I've worked very hard...It is the ultimate recycling project - one that saves lives."

The other cause that is important to the Commissioner is becoming less dependent on foreign energy sources. On her the Texas Railroad Commission website, she promises to protect Texas' natural resources and foster the growth of domestic energy sources. In August, 2008, Ames Jones wrote an Op-Ed for the Wall Street Journal entitled "How Texas Struck it Rich Beneath Suburbia." In it she talks about how politicians are blocking the way for the United States to become energy independent,

"If there is an energy crisis in this country, it is because too many states and too many lawmakers in Washington are too timid about allowing entrepreneurs to bring to the surface what is buried right below us. In Texas, we’re not timid. Thanks to longstanding public policy encouraging responsible production, 18% of all the oil and 30% of all the natural gas produced onshore in the U.S. is produced in this state. That makes us the No. 1 energy-producing state in America."

Ames Jones considers herself a "rock-solid" conservative. As a member of the Texas House, she worked to ensure a budget that cut state spending for the first time since World War II and overcome a ten billion dollar revenue shortfall. All of this was done without raising taxes. She has been a champion for homeowners' rights, and played an important role in creating property appraisal reform legislation and lowering homeowners' insurance premiums. She has won several awards for her work ethic, been called a "Fighter for Free Enterprise," and has been recognized for her contributions to Texas law enforcement.

Elizabeth Ames Jones is a sixth generation Texan from San Antonio and a graduate of the University 0f Texas, Austin. She and her husband, Will, have two children. You can read more about Commissioner Ames Jones (including her Wall Street Journal Op-Ed) at her official website: EAJ: Home.

Laura Bush Part 2: Life Before Washington DC

Laura Lane Welch Bush was born in Midland, Texas, on November 4th, 1946, to Harold and Jenna Welch. An avid reader and advocate for literacy, some of her fondest memories from her childhood come from reading with her parents. Mrs. Bush has said,

"I learned [how important reading is] at home from my mother. When I was a little girl, my mother would read stories to me. I have loved books and going to the library ever since. In the summer, I liked to spend afternoons reading in the library. I enjoyed the Little House on the Prairie books and Little Women, and many others... Reading gives you enjoyment throughout your life."

Mrs. Bush grew up in Midland and attended Southern Methodist University. She graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Education and went on to teach elementary school in Dallas and Houston. She would later earn a degree in Library Science from the University of Texas and work as a librarian. She has often said her time as a teacher and librarian helped her realize how important reading truly is.

The future first lady would not meet her husband until 1977, at a barbecue. They were married later that year and their twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna arrived four years later, in 1981. She would spend the next few years raising her daughters, campaigning for her father-in-law, President George H. W. Bush, and volunteering to work with babies with AIDS.

When George W. Bush decided to run for Governor of Texas in 1994, Mrs. Bush originally resisted, insisting she was not interested in politics. But Mrs. Bush's transition to First Lady of Texas was seamless. She dove into the role, becoming a champion for several important causes. She was an advocate for literacy and several children's causes. She began "Take Time For Kids" an awareness campaign to educate parents and caregivers; she urged the people of Texas to establish family literacy programs. She established "Reach Out and Read, " a pediatric reading program and "Ready to Read," an early childhood education program. Mrs. Bush raised money for public libraries and established the Texas Book Festival. She focused on helping abused and neglected children through the establishment of "Rainbow Rooms" and the "Adopt-a-Caseworker" Program. She also helped raise Alzheimer's and breast cancer awareness.

In 1999, when then Governor George Bush announced that he would run for President, Mrs. Bush has said she joked to her husband that it was okay as long as she never had to give a speech. Fortunately, she wasn't true to her word. At the 2000 Republican National Convention, Mrs. Bush gave a speech that would put her in the national spotlight and give the country a glimpse at the elegant woman from Midland, Texas. Laura Bush would go on to become, not just First Lady, but a leader and role model for women and people all over the world.