A $10,694 grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation to the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati is being used to expand the Y's Let Every Adult Read Now (LEARN) night program for Spanish speaking families.

The program has partnered with Su Casa Hispanic Ministry Services, a local Hispanic/Latino serving agency, to provide literacy services to Spanish speaking families in Hamilton County.

"By offering instructions in conversational and written English for the Spanish-speaking community, we believe we can help our clients become more self-sufficient, both in the workplace and in society,'' said Marlene Berning, LEARN at night director.

LEARN is the city's largest and oldest volunteer adult literacy program.

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is a philanthropic arm of Dollar General Corp.

Parents are invited to learn about the Montessori teaching philosophy at two branches of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.

Free sessions will be given at 7 p.m., Nov. 13 at the Westwood Branch Library, 3345 Epworth Ave., and at the same time, Nov. 18 at the Corryville Branch Library, 2802 Vine St.

Both sessions will last about an hour. They are sponsored by the Cincinnati Montessori Society, which was founded in 1963 as a non-profit organization by parents who had worked to inaugurate the first Montessori preschool in this area.

The teaching philosophy was started by Dr. Maria Montessori in early 20th century. She developed the philosophy, based on her belief that children learned best by doing, rather than by accepting other people's ideas and pre-existing knowledge.

For more information, call the Westwood branch at 369-4474 or the Corryville branch at 369-6034.

Project Soup Bowl at Oakdale Elementary School, 3850 Virginia Court, Bridgetown, netted $1,600 for the FreeStore/FoodBank's Kids CafÈ.

Students in an art class at the school made soup bowls and served soup and bread to residents in the community.

"This year, 200 bowls were created and decorated by students,'' said art teacher Sylvia Dick.

Mrs. Dick will present the project at a state conference in January.

Project Soup Bowl, the school's annual community service project, is organized by students, staff, parents and community volunteers.

Local restaurants donate soup and bread.

An information card, developed by the Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati as part of its Strong Voices, Smart Choices campaign, will help mentors, youth leaders and any adults caring for kids influence the choices young people make about drugs and alcohol.

The card and the publication; Parents' Guide to Talking with Kids about Drugs are available by calling 751-8000 or visiting www.drugfreecincinnati.org.

Allen Howard's "Some Good News" column runs Sunday-Friday. If you have suggestions about outstanding achievements, or people who are uplifting to the Tristate, let him know at 768-8362, at ahoward@enquirer.com or by fax at 768-8340.