Last week, LitWorld Executive Director Pam Allyn appeared on BronxNet Television Show, "OPEN" to speak about LitWorld's mission. Watch the interview below:
Conversations with Executive Director Pam Allyn
Join LitWorld and Pam Allyn for the launch of the LitWorld Live Orange Webcast Series on Tuesday, June 28 at 12 PM EST! The Series will feature renowned authors and speakers presenting free online workshops on topics of literacy and education, accessible to anyone and everyone on Facebook and Ustream.
Our first episode features LitWorld's Executive Director Pam Allyn for a "Story Power Hour" where she will host a lively discussion with parents, teachers, storytellers, and literacy leaders:
Capture the magic and force of storytelling and writing stories for your students, your own children at home and for yourself. This Teach-In will provide innovative strategies you can use to get kids (of all ages!) engaged with narrative as a tool for empowerment and for improving reading and writing skills.
Please RSVP here and stay tuned for any updates.
In the meantime, join in the conversation over at EdWeek where Pam's piece from last week, Against the Whole-Class Novel, is generating a series of in-depth and impassioned comments: add your voice into the mix and express your thoughts on how we can most effectively engage children in reading in our classrooms today.
Spark a LitSummer: Contribute to the LitWorld Summer Book Drive
This Summer, LitWorld is bringing the power of story to hundreds of young people from Kenya to Harlem, and we need your help! LitWorld is calling out to the community to help by donating books and school supplies as they embark on two important summer missions:
KENYA:
On July 8, 2011, members of the LitWorld team are headed to Kenya to visit our partners at the Children of Kibera Foundation. LitWorld works very closely with the Children of Kibera Foundation’s Red Rose School, where we run programs such as the Girls Clubs for Literacy Project. The Red Rose School is a beacon of hope for the children of Kibera, and is a positive learning environment providing education for children who are HIV/AIDS orphans.
HARLEM:
Starting this summer, LitWorld will set up the Story Power Camp project, a summer reading enrichment program for the youth of the Children’s Village, Polo Grounds Community Center. The Story Power Camp aims to engage young people in reading and writing through fun, interactive activities, while encouraging each participant to boldly share their personal stories. The Children's Village works in partnership with families to help society's most vulnerable children so that they become educationally proficient, economically productive and socially responsible members of their communities.
To contribute, view their wishlist via Amazon here (donations are being accepted until 6/30/2011): www.tinyurl.com/LitWorldDrive
Our Next Chapter Begins at the LitWorld Gala
Stories were shared, music was enjoyed, and smiles were seen all around on May 11th at the Metropolitan Pavilion in NYC, where LitWorld kicked off another year of exciting projects.
Click here to check out more photo highlights from the Gala on Facebook!
Be a part of the LitWorld Story with us.
The Brooklyn Friends School Book Donation!
LitWorld would like to thank the Brooklyn Friends School for their amazing book donation! After celebrating World Read Aloud Day in March, the Brooklyn Friends School community decided to take it a step further and organize a book drive in an effort to support LitWorld’s mission. Led by Amanda Welch, a kindergarten teacher at Brooklyn Friends, bright posters were hung around the lower school and book collecting stations were set up, as well as adding an ad in the school’s weekly e-newsletter.
With donations from students, families, faculty members, the lower school curriculum coordinator, and the kindergarten Library, the grand total came to almost 450 books! The LitWorld team was amazed to see that the Brooklyn Friends community even carefully bundled the books into colorful bags organized by genre and reading level, and even personalized them with thoughtful notes on each made by the Kindergarten classes and their teachers.
A few weeks ago, several bags of these books were taken to LitWorld’s Family Story Power Project celebration at the Harlem Children’s Zone. Each child who participated in the program proudly picked a bag of their choice to bring home, full of books to read with their families.
The connection formed between the students of Brooklyn and Harlem through this access to materials is truly an amazing one, and illustrates the pure joy that literacy can provide!
LitWorld's New Friend: The First Grader, Coming to a Theater Near You
LitWorld is proud to announce a new partnership with the extraordinary film: The First Grader, coming May 13 to a theater near you!
We are thrilled to collaborate with the creators of this powerful film to spread a message we share: Access for all to education.
In a small, remote, primary school in the Kenyan bush, hundreds of children are jostling for a chance for the free education newly promised by the Kenyan government. Kimani Maruge causes astonishment when he knocks on the door of the school. He is 84 years old and he is desperate to learn to read. Full of vitality and humor, The First Grader explores the remarkable relationships Maruge builds with classmates some 80 years his junior.
The story is a triumphant testimony to the transforming force of education and the ability of a dedicated teacher to shape lives.
Visit thefirstgrader-movie.com for more info.
A Warm Invitation to the LitWorld Gala May 11
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
The Metropolitan Pavilion
110 West 19th Street
New York, NY 10011
6:30-9pm Cocktails & Hors D'oeuvres
Kindly RSVP by April 29, 2011
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Watch our quick Sneak Peak Video featuring the song "Whole Wide World" by Mindy Gledhill:
