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Judy Willner is an educator and writing skills teacher for elementary school students in Philadelphia. When she lost her closest friend Cathy earlier this year, Judy decided the best way to honor her would be to set up a First Book campaign. She wanted to celebrate their shared love of reading and children.

Judy wanted to share Cathy’s story in her own words:

Dear Reader,

June 29 would have been my Cathy’s 60^th birthday. I had already started planning for it this time last year. We did that kind of stuff for each other – big parties, cards sent sixty days in advance.

Cathy was my best friend. We met in middle school, survived high school as nerdy late-bloomers, and traversed around Mexico together after graduation. I remember how the “older folks” who shared our tour bus loved her so much, how her smile and charm were infectious.

She was a reader, a card-sender, the queen of Facebook, and above all else, the most generous and kind-hearted person anyone could ever hope to be their best friend. I am so happy that for forty-five years I was privileged enough to call Cathy my best friend.

To celebrate and honor Cathy I decided to create a First Book Campaign in her name.

Cathy never had children of her own, but children had a very special place in her heart. Getting books to kids in her hometown of Philadelphia would have sent her over the moon. There would have been pictures all over Facebook of kids with their books!

Now, more than 500 books are going to be put in the hands of students in my classes and other classes across Philadelphia.

Cathy did that. And you can too.

Here’s to Cathy,

Judy Willner
Teacher and Book Lover
Philadelphia, PA

The post Cathy Was My Best Friend. Here’s How I Honored Her. appeared first on First Book Blog.

You’ve got a great fundraising idea. You have a goal. You’re excited to provide books and resources for kids in need.

Now what?

First Book Campaigns makes starting an individual or group campaign easier than ever. Follow these four steps and become a champion for children in need today!

Create Your Campaign – Start by going to firstbook.fundly.com and signing up using your personal email or Facebook account. Give your campaign a name and a goal then follow the easy to use campaign creation wizard.

Customize Your Page – Make your campaign stand out! Tell your story and encourage potential donors to give to your campaign. Present facts and statistics about the need for books and resources for kids. Ask directly for donations in specific amounts. Share photos and images. And of course, don’t forget to thank your donors.

Designate Your Funds – Your campaign can support any eligible school or program serving kids in need. All you need to do is verify that the school or program is eligible, be sure the school or program signs up with First Book and then complete the online designation form. The funds raised can also provide books and resources to wherever the need is greatest.

Promote Your Campaign – Spread the word about your campaign. Reach out to friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances using social media, email, flyers and even good old-fashioned word of mouth.

For more information about starting a First Book campaign please visit our campaign resource kit or the First Book campaign site.

The post Four Easy Steps to Become a Champion for Kids in Need appeared first on First Book Blog.

To celebrate World Book Day 2015 and to support the work of Book Aid International, I’ll be spending most of Thursday 5 March 2015 creating utter chaos in my home, using hundreds of our books to build the largest book den I can.

As a reader of this blog, you’ll know that I’m utterly passionate about children’s books and doing crazy things inspired by them. It’s what gets me up in the morning. But building a large scale book den out of books is wackiest thing I’ve yet tried to do. I haven’t done a recent book count, but I reckon I’ve got about 3000 to play with, so that gives you some sense of the scale of the challenge.

It’s going to be pretty disruptive, probably physically knackering and quite possible a challenge to the laws of gravity so please donate to Book Aid International to make it all worthwhile! You can donate securely online here:

https://www.justgiving.com/Zoe-Toft-2015/

Or if you prefer you can donate via text by texting BOOK62 £3 to 70070 (you can change the amount by swapping £5 or £10 for the £3).

I’ve been a supporter of Book Aid International for several years now. Book Aid International increases access to books to support literacy, education and development in sub-Saharan Africa, including in Zambia where I was born. In 2011 the girls and I completed a fundraising Librarithon, and in 2012 we played “guess the number of books in my home“.

In sub-Saharan Africa 151 million people are illiterate. 72 million children still do not got to school, and most people simply cannot afford books of their own. But without literacy people are not able to access education or healthcare, their work opportunities are limited as are their opportunities for participation in the social, economic and political decisions which affect their lives.

Each year Book Aid International sends 500,000 brand new and carefully selected books to libraries in communities, schools, universities, prisons, cities and refugee camps and more. They also provide grants for purchasing books locally (especially those in local languages), and training and advice to ensure that books are targeted to the right groups of people and are well used.

When it comes to donations…

£2 will send one book to sub-Saharan Africa
£10 could send five dictionaries to a university library in Tanzania
£24 could send 12 health books to a community library in rural Eritrea
£60 could send 30 books to a refugee camp in Kenya
£100 could help purchase 70 HIV/AIDS awareness books for children
£380 will send a starter collection of 200 books to a community library

I’m aiming to raise £500.

I’ll be tweeting my progress throughout the day on March 5 (@playbythebook), and will then blog about it once the den is built and habitable. You can donate any time (before, during or after the build).

If you’ve ever enjoyed my blog, found it useful, or been helped out on twitter by me, please consider “paying it forward” by donating today to Book Aid International.

*Thank you* (and please wish me good luck and stable building skills!)

Nicole, Ian, and Ashley from Blackboard Inc., were up to their elbows in books when they noticed some young, eager faces peeking through the windows of the school gym.

“The kids wanted to know what was going on. They kept coming over to look at the books and asking if they were going to get one,” said Nicole Marsh, Manager of Operations for Blackboard Somerset.

Nicole, Ian and Ashley were just a few of the employees from Blackboard at Hopkins Elementary that day.  Over 30 volunteers were sorting, organizing and distributing over 3,500 books to children in need in their community.

Throughout September, Blackboard, which delivers technology solutions that help re-imagine education for students from pre-K through lifelong learning, had each Educational Services division compete to raise money to get books into the hands of kids through a First Book Virtual Book Drive. The site that raised the most money won the opportunity to distribute the books made possible by their fundraising efforts to area schools.

The Blackboard office in the small, rural town of Somerset, KY won the competition, raising enough money for each elementary school and one middle school in Pulaski County to receive 400 books. And they did it one cupcake and crock-pot at a time – holding potlucks and raffling off cheesecakes and a fishing trip.

The schools were incredibly grateful for the books.  Thank you cards have poured into the Blackboard office since the distribution.

“I hope the children in Somerset see that not only do people out there really care about them but want to see their education go further. Education is everything, especially when kids are younger.” said Nicole, “I hope that they will see our effort and want to be involved so we can continue the cycle of events like this for children in need.”

Learn more about how you can start a Virtual Book Drive to get books to kids in need in your area.

The post Books to Kids, One Cupcake At A Time appeared first on First Book Blog.

Taylor Felice, a dedicated supporter of First Book, recently ran the Brooklyn Half-Marathon. Not only did she accomplish the goal of running the race but she also accomplished something else – getting books into the hands of kids in need.

Taylor aimed to raise $1800 through First Book to provide 400 brand-new books to kids in need. She surpassed this goal and doubled it, raising $2,182.85 via a First Book virtual book drive. Due to Taylor’s tireless efforts, 873 brand-new books will be going into the hands of children in need.

Taylor Felice

First Book:  What made you want to run a half-marathon? Are you typically a runner and/or participate in a lot of races?

Taylor:  My brother’s girlfriend actually got me to run the half-marathon. She ran the Brooklyn Half-Marathon last year and while I was standing at the finish line l became completely overwhelmed with emotion. I watched hundreds of runners in all shapes and sizes crossing and decided that if they could do it, I could too. Before this, I was more of a causal runner that did it for the exercise and had participated in a few short races prior to training for the half-marathon.

First Book:  Out of all of the organizations you could have raised money for, why did you choose First Book?

Taylor:  My mom and her best friend, Shelly, began participating in a reading program at a school in New Haven – when she went to the library to pick out books, the shelves were basically bare. After they got over the initial shock, they began reaching out to friends and family all over Connecticut to collect new and gently used books to help make the library a “happy” destination for the students.

Before my mom told me about the school, I’d never really thought about the availability of a book. We always hear about poverty and the difficulty of getting people nutritious food and sufficient clothing but you’d think within the walls of a child’s school he or she would have access to reading materials.

I was fortunate to go to an elementary school with a library full of books as far as the eye could see.  I’ve always been interested in working with and helping children – and while attending Tulane University, I volunteered in the New Orleans public school system – one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. If I can give back to children in low-income housing like many of my former students and inspire them to continue for greatness, I’d consider this half-marathon and these fundraising efforts a success. When I started my research for an organization, I knew I wanted something in the children’s education sector and I decided on First Book because I love to read and after research, knew that the money I was asking family and friends for would truly make a difference.

First Book:  In some of the nation’s lowest-income neighborhoods, there is only a single book for every 300 children. As someone who is passionate about reading, how does this make you feel?

Taylor:   When I first saw this statistic, I was sad – that’s really the only way I can explain my initial response. After getting over the initial shock, I was disappointed – how could children be so far from the opportunity to read a book? How could I have been so naive to never have thought about the possibility that it would be so difficult for children to have the opportunity to turn a page in a fairytale? I know how much I appreciate and enjoy a good book and I hope that some of these children that may struggle in low-income neighborhoods can find an escape inside one of the books that they receive from First Book.

First Book:  Why do you think it’s so important for children to have access to brand-new books?

Taylor:  When you’re a child, something shiny and new is a source of pride – its yours and yours alone and it becomes a part of your identity. Whether it’s a toy, a new piece of clothing or in this case a book, donating something new to a child, instantly becomes special. I think it’s important for children to have books because it inspires imagination and sparks their creativity; as an adult, I still love to read and let my imagination wander along with the characters.

First Book:  Thanks to your outstanding efforts, at least 873 brand-new books will be going into the hands of children in need. (That number is of course still increasing by the day!) How does it make you feel to know that you are making such a huge impact?

Taylor:  At first I was proud that I’d made the decision to support a nonprofit – and then I was a little hesitant to start asking people for money. Once the money started coming in and I beat both my first and revised goals, I was humbled by the outpouring of generosity from friends and family.  Seeing the number of books is great but thinking about making 873 children smile is better than anything.

First Book:  What has prompted you to be so involved with volunteerism? Did someone in your family emphasize the importance of reading?

Taylor:  My family has been involved with charities and volunteer work for as long as I can remember – it’s part of who we are. My parents read to my brother and me a lot and my grandfather used to tell us that he didn’t care what we read as long as we read something. They all knew how important books were to our education and development.

To get brand-new books into the hands of kids in need like Taylor did, visit www.firstbook.org and start your very own virtual book drive today.

The post Taylor Felice: How I Ran a Half Marathon to Bring Books to Kids in Need appeared first on First Book Blog.

First Book works tirelessly throughout the year to provide new, high quality books to students in need.  One of the true pleasures of this work is to know that volunteers, organizations, and communities across the country are working toward the same goal.

Recently, we received a wonderful letter that highlighted the incredible creativity of one such group.

MJR Marketplace Digital Cinema 20 in Sterling Heights, Michigan, does an annual movie promotion event to benefit an organization of their choice. This year, the movie theater used its promotion for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey to help bring books to kids through First Book.

During the movie’s opening weekend, several of the theater’s managers and staff created a wonderful display of Bilbo Baggins’ iconic home, Bag End. One employee went above and beyond to dress up as Gandalf the Grey himself and posed in photographs with patrons for a small donation.

As a result of their hard work and imaginative fundraising, the night turned out to be a huge success. They combined the donations from the weekend with the funds from a year-long soda can recycling program to raise a total of $1,384.66 to help put books in the hands of low-income students.

The staff successfully combined the excitement of a fan base for a movie premiere with the compassion of their audience to help students across the country. It serves as a high bar for the rest of us and makes us think: what are some creative ways we could help the students in our own communities?

If the tale of The Hobbit has taught us anything, it’s that you can never underestimate the impact of a small band of friends.  In the wise words of Gandalf the Grey: “I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay.  Small acts of kindness and love.”  In this case, let’s pretend the ‘darkness’ he is referring to is illiteracy. First Book could not be happier to have such great friends, with innovative ideas, along to way to create a generation of successful readers!

So much fun creating this design for our Waldorf Charter School’s Jog-a-thon!

A group of independent font designers have teamed up to create a service which will track the unauthorized use and distribution of font files online. They’re trying to raise $4,000 to make this happen:

TypeSnitch is a community-funded service that helps you keep tabs on where your font files are being publicly shared online. It will monitor popular sources and help you request file takedowns and other tedium related to inappropriate sharing of your files.

Over the past few weeks we’ve been posting on the YALSA Blog about the upcoming Booze for Books event on April 12. It’s a fundraising event focused on raising monies for YALSA’s Books for Teens initiative which gets books into the hands of underserved teens.

We’ve posted about planning for the event, moving beyond the booze box, and getting the word out about your event. This time around I want to throw out some ideas about getting some buzz going just before, during, and just after your event whether it be Mocktails for a Mission, Chocolate for a Cause, Booze for Books or something else.

• Use the #b4byalsa hashtag for Twitter posts before, during, and after the event. Make sure to let your attendees know about that hashtag.
• Have people take pictures at your event and then post them on Flickr (or the photo-sharing service of your choice). Make sure to use the #b4byalsa and the #yalsa hashtag. By doing that we’ll be able to put together an album of photos from the variety of events that take place across the country.
• Since so many people have video cameras on phones and iPads and other devices you might shoot short interviews with those at your event. They could talk about their favorite book or what they love about working with teens. Upload the videos to YouTube and tag them with yalsa and yalsab4b. We can then put together a gallery of video too.
• For those using mobile Facebook you can also encourage those attending to post on YALSA’s Books for Teens Facebook wall during the event. That way there will be a live stream on Facebook of the fun (and fundraising) taking place across the country

Those are just a few ideas of what people might do to create buzz just before, during, and just after the April 12 event. What do others think would work?

As you continue to plan your event no matter what the theme, feel free to get in touch with me (Linda W. Braun) with any questions about planning and implementation. Don’t forget that the YALSA Financial Advancement Committee developed a fundraising guide that has a lot of ideas and information that is sure to help in planning your event. There is also a Booze for Books page on the YALSA website.

I received several bits in pieces in my email account today that are very much worth sharing. 

From ALA Editions, I was reminded of Vanessa Irwin Morris’ new book The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Street Literature. 

Street lit, also known as urban fiction, addresses with unflinching grit the concerns and problems of city living. Controversial in some quarters, it is also wildly popular, and this readers’ advisory by street lit expert Morris

• Sketches out the rich history of the genre, showing why it appeals so strongly to readers and providing a quick way for street lit novices to get up to speed
• Covers a variety of subgenres in terms of scope, popularity, style, major authors and works, and suggestions for readers’ advisory
• Helps improve library customer service by strengthening the relationship between staff and any street lit fans who are new to the library

Emphasizing an appreciation for street lit as a way to promote reading and library use, Morris’s book helps library staff provide knowledgeable guidance.

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By: Elvin Lim, on 4/26/2011
Blog: OUPblog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  fundraiser, fundraising, freshman, GOP, presidential race, candidates, Thought Leaders, President Barack Obama, raising, Elvin Lim, fund-raising, quarter, bachmann, anti-intellectual presidency, Mitt Romney, *Featured, Law & Politics, campaign finance, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Michelle Bachmann, National Republican Campaign Committee, senatorial, fund, raised, Add a tag

SENDAI – Anthology

• We accept short stories and poems of any genre, as long as they are PG-13, relatively hopeful in nature and loosely themed around the strength of the human spirit. It would be a bonus if your workalso has a Japan theme!
• Short stories should be 500 – 5,000 words long. Poems should be 35 lines or longer.
• Send your work as a double-spaced Word document in Times New Roman, black font size 12. Please indent the first line of each paragraph by half an inch.
• E-mail your story as an attachment to [email protected]. In the body of your e-mail, please include your name as you would like it to appear in the anthology, followed by a short biography written in the third person. Feel free to include web addresses in your bio!
• The deadline for submissions is May 15th. A list of accepted submissions will be announced on May 30th.

http://storiesforsendai.blogspot.com/p/submission-guidelines.html

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By: John, on 4/21/2011
Blog: DRAWN! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  sketchbooks, fundraising, Add a tag

Buy a 32-page Megabolt Sketchbook, and a child in a hospital will receive one, too. All books are hand numbered so that you can see the name and city of who received your donation. And if the child/family wishes, art from the child’s matching sketchbook will be viewable online, so you can see how your donation was put to use.

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By: [email protected] (Mark Blevis and Andrea , on 7/18/2010
Blog: Just One More Book Children's Book Podcast (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  breast cancer, Call for Participation, cancer, fundraising, Add a tag

On October 6, 2009, Andrea was diagnosed with breast cancer.

On October 3, 2010, she will run for the cure.

You can join Andrea in this effort to raise money for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation by sponsoring her here.

Many thanks,
Andrea, Mark, Lucy and Bayla



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By: Rene Colato Lainez, on 7/14/2010
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  events, fundraising, El Salvador, talleres de poesia, Add a tag

by Aleph (Alex Sanchez), Salvadoran painter and committee member 

The first Festival Talleres de Poesía will take place in San Salvador, El Salvador this November 8-10. Many events are taking place in different cities in order to raise funds for this event that will promote books and literature in El Salvador.

This wonderful project is being organized by children books' author, Jorge Argueta and the Talleres de Poesia commitee in San Francisco and San Salvador, with the collaboration of the Director of the National Library of El Salvador, Salvadoran author, Manlio Argueta.

The Children's Poetry Festival will be held at the National Library in San Salvador in November 2010. Renowned poets will be conducting writing workshops to Salvadoran children and youth.

The theme of the workshops will be the importance of reading and significance of peace for Salvadoran children and youth. They will also have the opportunity to enhance their writing skills and learn techniques on how to write their experiences through poetry.

We are asking for your collaboration to help us make this event a success. We are raising funds for the necessary materials needed to make the First Children's Poetry Festival a reality in El Salvador.

Here are two ways you can help:

You can make your donation directly
to the Talleres de Poesia
account # 0006696
Mission Federal Credit Union
3269 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA 94110

or

or you can mail a check to:
Talleres de Poesia
90 Bepler St.
Daly City, CA 94014

Thank you in advance for your support!

Event in San Francisco in support of the

First Annual Poetry Festival in El Salvador 
(Nov 2010)

Date: Saturday, July 17, 2010

Time:5:00pm - 8:00pm

Location: El Patio Restaurant

Street: 3193 Mission St.

Live music by Grupo Conciencia and amigos Goldband, poetry for children and adults, clowns, riffles and many more exciting surprises.

Los esperamos - gracias!
Please join us - thank you!

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By: Beth, on 12/14/2009
Blog: YALSA - Young Adult Library Services Association (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Economy, Advocacy, Community, Programs, public relations, fundraising, morale, Add a tag

The idea started last year in an eleventh grade classroom with a teacher joking that there should be a school version of the television show Dancing with the Stars. Some members of the class took the idea and ran with it. This fall, the seniors presented Dancing With the Staff.

The basics: teachers were put into dancing pairs. The first week they danced ballroom. Three of the ten couples were eliminated, and the seven remaining danced freestyle the following week. Three teachers served as judges, serving up snarky commentary much like the judges on the show. Charging $5 a head, the senior class earned $3900.

While it was a financially successful fundraiser, there were a number of other benefits as well.

Teen Leadership: The event was almost entirely run by students. They arranged for dance lessons,  they took care of music at the shows, and they hosted the performances. They also filmed footage of rehearsals and interviewed contestants to make videos to play between dance numbers, just like on the TV show.

Faculty and Student Bonding: Katie, the class president, reports, “I think a great, unexpected benefit to the show was the relationships I and the other class officers developed with many of the staff members.  I really got to know a lot of new teachers and to see them as people, instead of just teachers.”

School Morale and Image: The performances were well attended by students, staff, and community members. Staff dancers were interviewed for the local paper. The event was covered on the nightly television news, as well as on a lengthier weekend magazine program.

Public Relations for the Library: Assistant librarian Beth Andersen was bold enough to participate. She danced the swing in the first round, and, in the freestyle round, poked fun at the old librarian stereotype by wearing her hair in a bun, and then throwing off her glasses and undoing her hair. While she was certainly proud of her third place finish, she was also happy to have a chance to make new connections. Faculty participants came down to the library to chat about the performances, and then were able to see what we were doing in the library. “Everyone would expect the librarian to be part of the book group, but not necessarily up on stage dancing. It’s great to break out of those roles, so kids can see you in a different light.” Every point of contact becomes a point of advocacy.

While this event was at a school, providing a whole faculty’s worth of potential dancers, it would also work at a public library. You might need to reach out to others in the community: mayor, town councilors, police and fire fighters, etc. This can be seen as form of outreach and involving the town in your library.

Katie has some advice if you choose to run this event at your school or library: “If I could do it again, the main thing I’d do differently is start planning earlier.  I didn’t realize how much work planning the event would be.  Next time I’d start at least five months in advance.  Also, for the benefit of the dancers, I would probably put two weeks between shows instead of one.” She also found it difficult to recruit male dancers, so be sure to put the pressure on the men. Other than that, prepare for the most fun and entertaining fundraiser you can imagine.

Help the Mt. Diablo branch of California Writers Club raise money for their Young Writers Contest for middle grade students. If you shop at ANY Barnes and Noble Bookstore from Nov. 28 through Dec. 4th and present their voucher (http://tinyurl.com/yf3ypfx) they will receive 10 - 25% of the amount of your purchase to help fund their yearly writing contest for middle grade students.

For the first time this year, you can also use the ID on the voucher to shop online at the Barnes and Noble web site or any other B&N store in the nation.

Letter from Nicolás Kanellos, Ph.D.
Arte Público Press Director

Here is wishing you well during these economically trying times. Because many sectors in the economy are fairing poorly, Arte Público Press has also been suffering. As usual, the first budgets to be cut by state and local authorities are those for schools and libraries, precisely the major consumers of our books and where our children most need them. What’s worse, our largest consumers are from California, the state that has seen its schools and public services cut back the most.

If you wish Piñata Books, Arte Público Press and its Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage to continue to present, represent and safeguard Latino culture in education, the media and general society, you must help us overcome this financial shock to our system. Since August, our sales have plummeted by more than 25%, which can only mean laying off professionals and student workers, as well as publishing fewer books and conducting less research.

We can get over the economic hump this year, but only with your help. This is not part of any yearly solicitation that we do. This is a one-time request to help us make it until next fall, when we expect the economy to improve, and schools and libraries to respond.

Please help us with your personal, maximum contribution. Also, please consider sending this letter and attachment to benefactors you know, along with your own personal cover letter, or send us a list of names and addresses, and we will be happy to reach them.

We have very little time left before we seriously cut back our operations, and we urge you to be generous in your contribution and in providing contacts that can help us reach our goal.
Your contribution is fully tax-deductible. You may send us a check directly or use your credit card to donate via our portal Latinoteca.com.

Thanks you so much for your past and current support and continued involvement in Arte Público and Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project. We appreciate your dedication to the importance of our mission and know that you are vital to its success.

With warmest regards and sincere appreciation for your generosity,

Nicolás Kanellos, Ph.D.
Director

While his note is geared to Palabra Pura poets, I would ask gente in the Chicago area and elsewhere to read this, give generously, and support what is a seminal Latino poetry venue. Palabra Pura Feed the soul, celebrates our luminaries, makes poetry accessible for our community in a way that no other literary institution does. For more info about who and what Palabra Pura is, read: http://labloga.blogspot.com/2007/07/conversation-with-francisco.html
and http://labloga.blogspot.com/2008/02/palabra-pura-news-new-latino-poetry-on.html.



October 16, 2008

Dear Lisa:

As a board member of the Guild Complex in Chicago, last year I had the privilege
of weighing in on the discussion that produced this re-vamped mission statement:

The Guild Complex, a community-based literary organization, presents and
supports diverse, divergent and emerging voices through innovative programs
including performances and readings. We look at literary culture and ask,
“What’s missing?”

In the Fall of 2005, then board member and current board president Mike Puican
answered that question (“What’s missing?”) in the following way: “There are no
poetry reading venues in Chicago that deliberately and systematically welcome
Latino and Latina poets.” So when Mike called me one morning and asked if I
would be interested in helping create a Latino poetry reading series, one of my
most enriching professional collaborations began. You know what I am talking
about because you are a PALABRA PURA alum. And I am writing to more than thirty
of you—our PALABRA PURA familia!

As the Guild Complex moves forward in planning season four (2009), we are faced,
as you can imagine, with growing challenges. We’ve received funding in the past
from the Illinois Council on the Humanities and the Joyce Foundation. In fact,
we have a grant proposal submitted to Joyce right now. We also recently
submitted a proposal to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for PALABRA
PURA. And yet we have come to understand that in order for this series to have
long-term viability, we are going to have to tap individual giving, as well.

And it occurred to me: who better understands and, I hope, appreciates this
series than those poets who have read in it? Who better understands that
PALABRA PURA aims to promote community between poets, specifically through our
pre-reading salon dinners, in addition to providing a Chicago venue for Latino
and Latina poets to share their work?

We have ten readings per year where we invite a “visiting poet” from outside
Chicago. With me so far? We are asking you to look at it this way: We are
asking you to donate $5 to each of those ten visiting poets. If you can think
about this in terms of giving future Palabra Pura readers $5 each, it will go a
long way towards our being able to keep offering honoraria, in addition, of
course, to travel and lodging.

And here’s the part I like the most: it’s a model for increasing sustainability.
Next year, at the conclusion of season four, we’ll be joined by more PALABRA
PURA alums, so that each year your $50 donation will be increased (if we remain
faithful) by at least $500. It’s as if we were all forming a living and growing
endowment for the future of the series. But don’t get me wrong: the annual
budget for PALABRA PURA is much much larger than the $1500 or so I hope to
raise from all of you. But it is an excellent and meaningful start at being
more intentional about tapping individual giving. Also: future potential
funders will be impressed if we can say that former participants in the series
are among our most faithful supporters.

And finally: your $50 donation buys you an annual membership to the Guild
Complex. If you have any questions about what a Guild “membership” means, please ask
(this letter is already too long!) And it goes without saying that if the
spirit moves you to donate more than $50 please do so since I imagine and
understand that there may be personal economies who can’t give as much as $50.
It also goes without saying that any amount, however modest, would be greatly
appreciated.

In a nutshell: I am asking you to consider making a tax-deductible donation of
$50 towards a program you were a part of and, we trust, was a meaningful
experience for you. You can make your donation by writing a check to “The Guild
Complex.” Please write in the memo line “Palabra Pura.” Alternatively, you can
make the donation online through pay pal by going to the Guild website (
http://guildcomplex.org ). We only ask that you let us know if you have gone
this route as we would like to keep track of the number of PALABRA PURA alums
who have contributed. If you opt to send a check, the mailing address is:

Guild Complex
P.O. Box 478880
Chicago, IL 60647-9998

Again, please feel free to contact me, or Ellen Wadey, the Guild’s Executive
Director, if you have any questions.

Thank you so much,

Francisco

Francisco Aragón
Co-curator, PALABRA PURA
Board member, The Guild Complex

There is a lot of talk about change at the moment with elections on both sides of the border. Want real change? Then Bilaal Rajan’s your man! Bilaal is the author of the just released book - Making Change: Tips from an Underage Overachiever.

Bilaal has recently been named one of the Top Twenty Under Twenty and is the current UNICEF Child Ambassador. Bilaal also holds the title of “Youngest Orca Author.” Watch the video below to learn more about him.

Do you remember when you were a kid, and your school/girl scout troop/baseball team/insert-your-group-here sent you home with those fundraising plastic cups, or hoagie order forms, or boxes of candy bars? You went door-to-door to sell them, didn't you? (Unless you were one of those lucky few whose parents worked somewhere with a bazillion co-workers, so they sold, like, thousands of candy bars for you, and you won all the selling prizes, while kids - like me - whose parents said, "It's your school. You sell them yourself" scrabbled together orders for, oh, 32. Maybe. Yeah, I've got a wee little chip there.) 

I've just found out, via a friend, that Terry Pratchett fans worldwide are trying to raise enough money to match his donation of $1000000 to Alzheimer's Research.

If you're interested in making a donation, however small, click on the button below.

Please note, if you're outside the UK, you have to click the "Don't have a postal code" link and then you'll get an alternate box for putting in an address - and tick the non-UK radio button as well.



Please, if you can spare a couple of dollars or pounds or whatever your local currency is to make a donation in honour of a marvellously talented man, do so. Thank you.

WARNING

After the climb, the reward and we pootled down into lush high banked lanes, while butterflies giddied about the hedgerows. Passing a farm, I noticed a sad little form in the road - a young rabbit, stone dead - obviously hit by a vehicle and very recently, as its eyes were bright and clear, and there were no flies yet. There were no external wounds, apart from the tell tale trickle of blood from its mouth. Since our adventures with plucking pheasants, I have often wondered if I had it in me to prepare a road kill rabbit. I thought not. I like rabbits, and they frequently turn up in my artwork, as toys. It seemed one step too far. And yet...and yet, it was a fat little fellow, and as usual my household budget is tight. I'm on about 25 pounds a week, maximum, so a free meal is to be welcomed.
I am fine about buying rabbit from the butcher, surely I should be able to get over my distaste and pick up an already dead, free range rabbit, which must have had a pretty decent (if short) life. Because if not, then I am simply being silly and indulging in anthropomorphic associations with such lovable characters as Peter Rabbit - whose father, if you remember, ended up in a pie made by Mrs McGregor. And all too often we glibly buy nicely prepared meat off shop shelves, packed in plastic trays and bearing little resemblance to its origin - I am with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on this. Know what you are eating and be aware of the sacrifice an animal made for you.



So into Hercule's basket went Mr Bunny and we continued our journey, with the sun beating down on one side and the waning moon, half empty, still high in the sky on the other. A black cat crossed our path, and I occasionally put out a hand to stroke Mr Bunny, his fur soft as a kittens. I felt glad that he must have had a lovely morning; up with the dawn, lolloping about in the summer fields, gorging on sweet grass and then, one quick blow to the head, which must have killed him instantly and so on to the next life. Many of us would wish for such a swift and merciful end.