issue feature
21 Reasons
to love the city 

17. The ice cream man still comes to your neighborhood.
 
How can they possibly hear that song from that far away? My children must have had a depth of hearing ability normally reserved for canines. "Dad, it is him. The ice cream guy!" What ensues (still, though now they are, or nearly are, teens) is the mad scramble for change, the heart-clenching dash for the door, the infectious song growing ever closer - a siren call that brings the children to the curb. The ice cream man still rolls through neighborhoods throughout the city, bringing frozen treats and a notion that maybe the world is simpler than we think after all. - Joe O'Donnell

18. Because we love literacy
Yes, we're Southern - and yes, we have indoor plumbing, wear shoes and are plenty literate, thankyouverymuch. Those stereotypes may never fade, but the truth is there are plenty of people working to promote literacy in Birmingham.

The Literacy Council
What they do: The Literacy Council holds fund and awareness-raising events throughout the year, providing a service to the community as they support the region's literacy organizations.

Volunteer opportunities: The council provides training, then refers tutors to programs through which they can help adults with poor literacy skills and those who aren't native English speakers. Year-round, volunteers also read to at-risk students in elementary schools, and on February's United We Read Day volunteers read books that relate to Black History Month. Volunteers can also make follow-up calls to people who call the Literacy Council Helpline, or work with the community outreach coordinator to coordinate Adult Literacy Education/Resource Training workshops. Office help is also welcome.

How to volunteer: Call 326-16925 or visit literacycoucil.org for more information.

Better Basics
 What they do: Better Basics provides literacy programs at schools throughout the metro area, especially targeting students in high-need schools.

Volunteer opportunities: Reading intervention, working with students with below-grade level skills; Motivators of Reading Enrichment, encouraging fourth grade students to read for fun; School-wide enrichment, presenting programs that enhance the school's curriculum. The Better Basics office also welcomes volunteers.

How to volunteer: Call Volunteer Coordinator Sandra Edwards 944-2928, ext. 329, or email her at sedwards@betterbasics.org.
For more information: betterbasics.org
Junior League of Birmingham
 What they do: The local Junior League has partnered with the Dollywood Foundation to offer Dolly Parton's Imagination Library through their All Aboard! Read with Me! program. Jefferson County participants receive a new book, for free, monthly until they reach age 5. Throughout the year, JLB also hold book drives to collect books for various community groups.

How to enroll: Call 879-9861, ext. 6618, or online at jlbonline.com. Donations, which will be used to purchase more books, can also be made online.
Rotaract's Ready 2 Read

What they do: The Rotaract Club of Birmingham provides area second grade classrooms with both books and reading volunteers, encouraging children to spend more time reading.

How to support it: Find information on sponsoring Ready 2 Read online at birminghamrotaract.com. An annual gala also raises funds for the program; the 2008 event was held in March. - Carla Jean Whitley

19. Progress comes slowly, but it comes.
Okay, so they've knocked more stuff down in Atlanta since the 1950s than we've even thought about putting up. I've come to accept the notion that progress in Birmingham (whether measured in exciting new buildings or some other metric) moves at its own pace. But it does move. In fact, it's not too much of a stretch to imagine that with all of the exciting things on the drawing boards, we are entering a golden era of growth and progress in the city. Unless we're not - in which case we'll continue to love what we love about this city, and wonder about what we don't have. Resilience and patience are essential aspects of the city's character.
- Joe O'Donnell
 
20. A hospital can give you a new life.
Dr. Arnold G. Diethelm founded UAB's transplant program in 1967, building a nationally-recognized transplantation program from the ground up. Under Dr. Diethelm's leadership, UAB's renal transplant program became one of the largest and busiest in the nation, doing more than 300 procedures each year. The first kidney transplants took place in 1968, followed by the first heart transplant in the Southeast in 1981. These milestones were followed by liver transplants (1983), the first simultaneous pancreas/kidney transplant (1988), and lung transplants (1989). More than 10,000 transplants have taken place since the first organ transplant at UAB in 1968; UAB performs 100 more transplants per year than any other program in the South. UAB ranks among the top nationally in kidney transplant (2nd); liver transplant (20th); heart transplant (19th); and lung transplant (21st).

21.School of Fine Arts
The school provides focused specialty instruction in creative writing, dance, mathematics and science, music, theatre arts and visual arts, plus core academic courses necessary to earn an Alabama high school diploma. And it is one cool school.- Joe O'Donnell

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