NEWS
6 • Thursday, June 3, 2021
Read Out Loud
By Emily Williams-Robertshaw
Birmingham’s Better Basics Kicks Off New Virtual Children’s Book Readings Featuring Birmingham Notables dancer,” Howe said. Next, Birmingham Museum of Art Manager of Public Programs Carey Fountain participated, reading the book “Parker Looks Up” by Parker and Jessica Curry. “It’s about a little girl who sees Michelle Obama’s portrait for the first time,” she said. “That artist of the portrait is Amy Sherald.” It just so happens that the BMA has a piece of Sherald’s work in its collection. So, Fountain was able to not only read the book, but provide background on portraiture and show another piece of Sherald’s work. “A lot of the students we serve wouldn’t necessarily go to the ballet or the museum, so I thought this was a good moment for them to be exposed to that,” Howe said. Howe said the series allows her to get creative with the books to which she exposes students. “We are limited to what we can purchase,” she said. “We pick books based on content for our gift book and then we buy dollar books from Scholastic. Their quality and content is up to par, but a book like ‘Parker Looks Up,’ that’s a $10 book.”
Lack of Reading Materials
According to data provided by Better Basics, 16% of Alabamians are illiterate. Seventy-nine percent of low-income children enter kindergarten not knowing all the letters of the alphabet.
UNDERWOOD
Underwood’s devotion and leadership over the last 30 years.”
From Page One
Three Best Changes
Underwood said. “We haven’t lost sight of our commitment to the community, but we have been able to do things on a much larger scale.” Now, Underwood, 69, has decided to step away and let someone else take the reins. Underwood announced May 20 he is retiring. “This feels like as good a time as any,” Underwood said. “The organization is in a good place and we have a strong leadership team and the future looks bright, so this just felt like the time. “The official date is Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year. The search activity (for a new president/CEO) is already under way, so that date could change depending on the search progress.” Underwood’s visionary leadership enabled Lakeshore to experience steady growth. “Jeff Underwood has led Lakeshore Foundation from its humble beginnings to the nationally and internationally acclaimed position it now holds in disability fitness, sport, research and advocacy,” said Mark McColl, board chairman of Lakeshore Foundation. “The board, staff and the Lakeshore Foundation community will be forever grateful for Jeff
When Underwood looks back, three things readily come to mind as major achievements on his watch. Lakeshore became a national and international facility, being designated as an official U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Site in 2003, which resulted in Lakeshore Foundation’s long history of advancing adaptive sports. Underwood said getting that designation “is a demonstration to the community and country of our expertise. “We already had that credibility, but that just made it look more official,” he said. As a U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Site, Lakeshore hosts national team training camps and international competitions. Since the training site designation, Lakeshore has produced 52 Paralympic athletes, coaches and staff, and those athletes have captured 30 Paralympic medals. Lakeshore also is the High Performance Management Organization of USA Wheelchair Rugby. Additionally, the Lima Foxtrot program for injured military members and the formation of the University of Alabama at Birmingham–Lakeshore Research Collaborative also occurred
Photo courtesy Better Basics
In a typical year, Spring is the season when Amy Howe of Better Basics and her coworkers would be working on one of their largest undertakings of the year. The annual Birmingham Reads events. “This is when we recruit and place a volunteer in every Birmingham City School that we serve in pre-K through fifth grade classrooms,” Howe said. It requires more than 700 volunteers – including representatives of local companies and recognizable faces. Volunteers enter the schools, read a book to the kids and then give copies of that book to each student in the class. According to Howe, in a typical year, the organization hands out approximately 12,000 books to students. Because of the pandemic, volunteers are unable to enter schools, and that number was cut to 6,000 this year. “So, I put my thinking cap on and thought of another way we could have the students hear books being read to them,” she said. “We also still wanted to give books to the children.” She reached out to longtime Birmingham Reads volunteer Mayor Randall Woodfin for a video read-along series. “We always think of Mayor Woodfin because he is such a local celebrity,” she said. “But I also had a thought that we should concentrate on the arts.” With that in mind, she reached out to officials with the Alabama Ballet, who were happy to have two of their company members get involved, David Odenwelder and Isabella Cowles. “They read a fun book called ‘Brontorina’ about a brontosaurus who wants to be a ballet
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
The Alabama Ballet’s David Odenwelder and Isabella Cowles, above, participated in this year’s annual Reads event.
“A lot of students don’t have access to print once they get home,” Howe said. “At school they do. If they go to the public library they do. A lot of students also don’t have access to reliable internet. So to have books in print at home is so great. It’s also a way to keep kids on track outside the classroom. Children not reading at their level by third grade are 13 times less likely to graduate from high school, and 60% of lowincome families don’t have a single book in their homes.
with Underwood at the helm. “I think our injured military program is something we’re honored to do,” Underwood said. “It’s something the community has supported. Birmingham has risen to the occasion and I’m proud of that. “Another thing is the establishment with UAB Health as a research collaborator. It’s not only delivery of care but studying ways to advance our service and care.”
Local Remains at the Heart
But of course, for Underwood, community stayed at the core of the mission. He led the development of new facilities, an advocacy department and many sports and recreation programs for youth and adults. “I am very proud of the fact that, in the midst of all the national attention, our extraordinary staff and board have kept our members, local athletes and community at the very center of all we do. They are truly the heart and soul of Lakeshore,” he said. Lakeshore’s mission is to encourage and provide opportunities for people with disability to live a healthy lifestyle through activity, research, advocacy and health promotion. Supporting this mission included partnerships with many other organizations, such as a collaboration with Apple to develop the
“A lot of low-income students fall behind in the summer, it’s called the summer slide,” Howe said. “So, this Books for Birmingham campaign is something we are really proud of because we are able to get books in the hands of some students that often don’t have books in the home.” The organization recently kicked off its annual virtual book drive, Books for Birmingham. Last summer, 9,600 books were distributed to Birmingham children. To get these books out to the community during a pandemic, the organization went to great measures. “Last year, we partnered with different organizations that had food stations,” Howe said. “When families would come by and get food, they were also given a book.” Any amount of money can be donated, but for reference, a donation of $50 purchases 12 books. The organization also has wish lists on Amazon and at Little Professor in Homewood, where books can be purchased and donated. Lists can be found on the website, at betterbasics.org, along with a full archive of the videos. Howe said the organization plans for the video presentations to continue to grow. “I’m looking forward to asking someone from the Red Mountain Theatre or have a player from the Barons or have somebody from our fire department,” Howe said. “There are endless possibilities as to who you can ask. You can even have your local barber read.” She also has heard from the community that adults find it fun, as well. “I think, as an adult, you don’t get tired of listening or reading a good children’s book. They are so fun and bring back great memories,” Howe said.
activity tracker for wheelchair users and the construction of dormitories and cottages for visiting Lima Foxtrot participants and athletes. “When I decided to accept the position at Lakeshore, I saw it as an opportunity and a challenge,” Underwood said. “It was an opportunity to come into an organization where there was a strong commitment by the board to build a successful program and a challenge to test myself to see as the first full-time employee, if I could be successful in that situation.” Underwood is a member of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee Paralympic Advisory Council. In 2008, he was named by the U.S. Olympic Committee as the chef de mission for the U.S. Paralympic Team for the Beijing Paralympic Games. Prior to Lakeshore, Underwood worked at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center and served as a legislative assistant to former U.S. Rep. Ben Erdreich. He also served as president of the Homewood City Council and as a state senator. He has served on the boards of several community and civic organizations, including the Homewood City Schools, the BryantJordan Scholarship Program and Disabled Sports USA. He was a member of the Leadership Birmingham Class of 1998 and the
Leadership Alabama Class of 2011. Underwood is a 1974 graduate of the University of Alabama, where he received a bachelor’s degree from the School of Commerce and Business Administration. He received his Master of Public Administration in 1976 from Auburn University Montgomery. Underwood was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He and his wife, Melinda, have two daughters, Anna and Maria. They attend Trinity United Methodist Church in Homewood. Underwood is uncertain about what his next chapter will be after Lakeshore. “Part of me is glad I don’t have a plan and the other part is terrified I don’t have a plan,” he said. “One day I will wake up wondering what do I have to do today and end up with a full calendar and another day I will wake up and wonder what needs to be done in the yard.” But he has no doubt Lakeshore will continue to flourish. “Lakeshore’s strength is the people,” Underwood said. “It’s not one person, but the community, the board of directors and the staff. It never depends on one person to make it go. “I think the program will continue to shine and grow. I am excited to see what the next chapter is for Lakeshore.”
