Want to eat a delicious meal while helping out a worthy cause at the same time? Well, mark your calendars for the North Baldwin Literacy Council’s Salad Luncheon on Friday, Aug. 16 from 11 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church.

Plates are $6 per person and include salad, bread, dessert and a drink. To make it even easier for you, carry out plates are available.

NBLC Director Marilyn Waters said she saw how successful St. Agatha Catholic Church’s salad and soup luncheons were and decided to try a salad luncheon herself two years ago.

“The event was a success for us, too,” she said. “We wanted to do something to draw in the community, to do something they will respond to, and in the process of fundraising I can also raise public awareness of the issue of illiteracy in our area.

“Who doesn’t enjoy refreshing summer salads? We also have carry out plates, so if you are having a busy day doing back to school shopping and don’t want to cook, you can take a few plates home for supper.”

Waters is also looking for volunteers to help with the salad luncheon. If you are interested then you can call her at 937-1112 or visit her at her office located inside the Bay Minette Public Library. She needs a variety of salads, desserts, bread or crackers and tea and “lots of people to come and eat!”

You can volunteer your time to help at the luncheon and later you can volunteer to help teach someone to read and write or with basic life skills such as balancing a checkbook and creating a budget.

The proceeds from this lunch with a purpose benefit the NBLC which provides literacy and life skills classes for adults in the North Baldwin area.

Waters said last year alone the council helped between 50 and 60 adults in her service area. She added that even in such a technically advanced society illiteracy is still a big issue. According to the Alabama Literacy Alliance, there are 135,000 adults without a diploma or a GED. “We cannot move forward, economically or otherwise, unless we address this issue.”

The numbers speak for themselves. Even in today’s society there are people who fall between the cracks and need programs like the North Baldwin Literacy Council to pull them back into the light. They need encouragement from family and friends to first ask for help and then continue on the road to success.

“It will take the family to encourage these adult students to continue. They need that encouragement and that push to come to class. If they don’t have that, they’ll never make it.

“I look at this as a ministry,” she added. “It is not just a job. People can’t function in society until they learn to read. We are touching lives.” You can be a part of this life changing program. If you would like to help with the salad luncheon, become a volunteer tutor, are passionate about this cause and have fundraising abilities or want to help in other ways, please contact Marilyn Waters.

In other business news, don’t forget to mark your calendars for the next Market Day in Blackburn Park brought to you by the Old Town Bay Minette Arts Council on Saturday, August 8th from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m. Also, the North Baldwin Community Choir will be presenting a gospel concert on August 9th at the First United Methodist Church at 7 p.m. this event is free to the public.

Joanna Bailey is the director of the Bay Minette Public Library. She can be reached at baileyvolumes@gmail.com