Carolyn Pasquini (Mrs. Daniel), of rural Metamora, Literacy Promotion Chairman of Black Partridge Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, displays just a small sampling of the three hundred and seven (307) creative homemade bookmarks the chapter members made and donated to the Children's Hospital of Illinois.
Carolyn had shared with members some memories of her years as a volunteer at Children's Hospital of Illinois, reading to children in the hospital's "school room" and pushing a bookcase on wheels to the children's hospital rooms to assist their choosing books to look at and read while they were patients. The Daughters decided to make the variety of pretty, imaginative, encouraging, uplifting, and colorful bookmarks for the children to choose and keep. They used textiles, non-toxic paints, crayons, drawing/writing supples, ribbons, strings and tassels to create the 307 unique personal bookmarks.
Black Partridge Chapter, NSDAR, Literacy Promotion efforts have also included donating books and reading materials to schools, abuse shelter, children's areas of dentist offices, and ESL (English as second language) teaching and tutoring efforts for adults and for children. The Daughters have supported programs that provide books for children in need and efforts to provide opportunities for prisoners to read to their children. The chapter initiated a DAR "Read It and Pass It Along" program to encourage adults and children to discuss and share favorite books. In 2019 the DAR members of Black Partridge Chapter donated more than 200 books.
The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a service organization. More than one million women have joined DAR since it was founded by an Act of Congress on October 11, 1890. Their motto is "God, Home and Country".
Daughters, who all share the bond of being direct-line descendants of an ancestor who served in the American Revolution, are passionate about service, preserving history, educating children, and honoring and supporting those who serve our nation