YELL RAISES ABOUT $35,000 FOR LITERACY

Mary Brewer stood amid orange highway barricades and braved traffic that sometimes whizzed by at 45 mph Tuesday morning to raise money for literacy efforts in Cape Girardeau.

Not everyone whizzed by Brewer's station at William Street and I-55. She was one of a team of volunteers from the Target store. By the end of the morning, the team sold out of the special-edition YELL newpapers they were hawking.

Hundreds of volunteers like Brewer hit the streets Tuesday morning to sell the special edition of the Southeast Missourian during the annual YELL for Newspapers campaign.

Hawkers raised about $18,000 in just over two hours. The money is used for education and literacy efforts in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City.

Like last year's campaign, Cape Girardeau volunteers raised more than $14,000. Jackson volunteers raised more than $3,200, and Scott City volunteers raised more than $1,000, increases over last year's sales.

In addition to street sales, businesses purchased $17,000 worth of advertising in the YELL edition. Advertising funds go directly to Newspaper in Education programs at schools in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City.

When street sales and advertising funds are combined, YELL raised more than $35,000.

Kim McDowell, who coordinates the YELL program at the Southeast Missourian, said, "It was a perfect YELL day."

Jim Govro, general manager of the West Park Mall, headed a team selling papers on William Street near the mall. He said, "This is a great job."

To attract customers, Govro shouted to motorists some of the benefits readers of the YELL edition receive.

"Illiteracy is a bad thing," Govro said between sales. "This is something little we can do a few hours a year to help. We all need to do it."

He added that customers had been enthusiastic throughout the morning. "Everyone is having a good time."

Suzanne Holland with Easter Seals sold newspapers at Broadway and Caruthers. Easter Seals has been a recipient of YELL funding in the past. "YELL helps us, so we help YELL," she said.

The Easter Seals sales spot was lively, especially as high school students arrived for school and as university students traveled down the street.

"If only we could control these lights," she joked as the red light turned green.

The team from Vision 2000 manned their regular post at Broadway and West End Boulevard. Vision 2000 has reserved that spot through the year 2000.

Bill Yuede said the weather was perfect and people seemed to be in a good mood Tuesday, adding to his sales.

Yuede said several people donated more than the $2 requested for a single issue. Others bought multiple copies of the special edition.

At the same corner, David Kaempfer said perhaps volunteers were a little crazy to spend the morning walking through traffic selling papers. But he admitted it was a lot of fun. "And it's for a good cause," he said.

Half the money raised from street sales goes to fund Newspapers In Education, a program by the Southeast Missourian to provide teachers with newspapers for use in their classrooms. The other half of the money funds literacy grants administered through the Area Wide United Way.