Today is the Day of the Child's Story - An Urgent Call to Action from Pam Allyn on the Huffington Post

Our hearts are broken. On December 14th, 2012, twenty children and six adults were killed in a horrifying elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. LitWorld honors, cherishes and mourns for the stories of the children and their beloved leaders, taken from the world far too soon.

Let us be a new story right now, the story of the day our country became pro-child. Today, LitWorld's Executive Director, Pam Allyn, issues a call to action on the Huffington Post.

"Today IS the day. Because today might have been the day one of those beautiful children lost another tooth, or learned to whistle, or sang a new song, or read for the first time, or made an art project, or wrote a story."

Read the full piece here.

Tune in Monday December 17th for the First Ever LitWorld Fireside Chat

To mark the end of an extraordinary year, LitWorld's Executive Director, Pam Allyn, and Innovation Developer, Yaya Yuan, will host a Fireside Chat to share with you LitWorld's Top 7 Strengths Stories of 2012.

This Chat will happen on Monday, December 17th at 7pm EDT for 21 minutes. We invite you in for a close glimpse of our work through seven amazing, treasured moments that made us stop and give thanks for the work.

You will hear one story about each of our 7 Strengths: Belonging, Friendship, Curiosity, Kindness, Courage, Confidence, and Hope.

To listen, call: 1.862.902.0100
Access code: 155368

We would love to answer your questions about LitWorld and the work we do at the end of our chat. Email info@litworld.org or tweet to @litworldsays. 

This Week LitWorld is Thankful For...

1. Our devoted LitWorld volunteers and friends. Our teams love children dearly, and make love the centerpiece of work towards education equity. Together we are transforming the world with strength based story sharing each and every day.

2. Amazing hurricane literacy support by our friends at Bellevue Hospital and the Brooklyn Public Library. LitWorld is contributing new books to both of these wonderful institutions serving thousands of the city's children.

3. Our friends at Barnes & Noble. They are celebrating our work by hosting a Bookfair and making a contribution to LitWorld. Here is how you can help: Buy a book at Barnes & Noble using this voucher in the Yonkers, NY store this weekend or shop on barnesandnoble.com December 1st - 7th and enter Bookfair ID Number 10884252.

Shop the LitWorld Barnes & Noble Bookfair!

We are pleased to announce an upcoming in-store and online Barnes & Noble Bookfair for LitWorld. Those in the Yonkers, New York area can print this voucher and present it at the Barnes & Noble location below on December 1& 2 to donate a portion of your sale to LitWorld!

 Barnes & Noble 
2614 Central Park Ave
Yonkers, New York 

We will also be hosting a special in-store LitFest on December 1st, 1-4pm, please join us for an afternoon of fun, family literacy activities!

You can also participate by shopping at barnesandnoble.com from December 1-7. Enter Bookfair ID Number 10884252 at checkout to allocate a portion of your sale to LitWorld!

 

LitWorld in Haiti: Finding New Ways to Reach Children as Learners

In Haiti, grueling poverty and deprivation of rights, especially for girls, make it highly unlikely that these children will graduate from secondary school. LitWorld is finding new ways to reach them as learners. 

There is much sorrow in Haiti, and yet so much hope, and so many wonderful people working so tirelessly to bring the joy of learning to the forefront. People like Nadine Louis, seen here with Sue Atkins, Chair of LitWorld's Board of Directors. Nadine is the Executive Director of the TOYA Foundation, our lead partner in Haiti.

Our Innovation Hubs around the world represent our collaboration with partners on the ground who can bring LitWorld methodologies to life and convey this vision to many others in their local communities and countries. We are building reading cultures with their collaboration. We welcome our dear friends in Haiti as our newest Innovation Hub.

Read a full report from our time in Haiti on the LitCorps blog: http://litworld.org/litcorpsblog/