new posts in all blogs
Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: Causes, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 25 of 67
How to use this Page
You are viewing the most recent posts tagged with the words: Causes in the JacketFlap blog reader. What is a tag? Think of a tag as a keyword or category label. Tags can both help you find posts on JacketFlap.com as well as provide an easy way for you to "remember" and classify posts for later recall. Try adding a tag yourself by clicking "Add a tag" below a post's header. Scroll down through the list of Recent Posts in the left column and click on a post title that sounds interesting. You can view all posts from a specific blog by clicking the Blog name in the right column, or you can click a 'More Posts from this Blog' link in any individual post.
It’s election time for members of the American Library Association. Even if you’re not a member, I think you’ll enjoy hearing from Courtney Young, a candidate for ALA president. Courtney wrote the following to share with you what librarians can do through the ALA to serve our communities.
If you’re not a librarian, continue reading to know what to expect of your local school, public or academic library. If you are a librarian, read to know what a vote for Courtney will mean for the ALA. Voting in the 2013 ALA election began at 9:00 a.m. Central Time (US) on March 19, 2013. Ballots close at 11:59 p.m. on April 26, 2013.
The future of libraries is brighter than ever!
My name is Courtney Young and I ask for your vote for ALA President.
My platform focuses on the value of membership in the association. ALA exists for members in practical, relevant ways. In a time when we are faced with fiscal uncertainties, a growing impact of technology on core library collections and services, and staffing challenges, the library community needs to know that ALA is there for them. I am prepared to continue my service to the library community as President of the American Library Association, by advancing what I believe are three issues affecting all of us: Diversity, Career Development, and Engagement and Outreach.
Library services are strengthened when the diversity of the profession represents the diversity of the communities we serve. Likewise, our association is strong because of the diversity of the types of libraries we serve. ALA empowers our diverse voices.
Keeping all library employees current and equipped to serve their communities is one of the key roles of the association. By supporting substantive interactions, including professional networking, collaboration, and continuing education, ALA ensures that library and information professionals well-equipped with skills and training, well-informed of the issues that impact libraries and our profession, and well-connected to the changing world around us. ALA is the central thread that connects all of us.
Libraries are nimble and responsive to the changing information and service needs of our communities. They empower users and foster participation in the larger community providing access to information, by supporting use of networks and social media, and by advocating for users’ rights to information. ALA truly builds communities.
As ALA heads into strategic planning for 2020, I will work to keep these initiatives and the association valuable to member needs.
Thank you in advance for your support! To learn about my campaign and active leadership in ALA, please visit http://courtneyyoung.org.
Sincerely,
Courtney L. Young
Head Librarian, Penn State Greater Allegheny
Filed under:
Causes Tagged:
ALA,
Courtney Young 
If you were not able to rock the drop yesterday due to time, weather, or other such uncontrollable things, don't fret - you can totally drop a book today, this weekend, whenever time allows! When you do, leave us a comment here at the readergirlz blog or on Facebook, and tweet @readergirlz with the hashtag #rockthedrop - and include a picture if you took one!
You can also participate on a larger scale, if you'd like, by donating a bunch of books to the place or cause of your choice. Visit a local shelter, a school, a library, a children's hospital, and ask if they take donations. Once you've gotten the okay, gather up new or gently used books from your friends, family, classmates, and co-workers, add the bookplates, tuck in some bookmarks, then drop the books off!
For example, you could send Ballou High books from their wish list via Powells books! That would be a cool way to tie-in both readergirlz and GuysLitWire. Here's how you can help out Ballou High: It's Time for the Annual Spring Book Fair for Ballou High School Library!
You can also donate books to 826NYC, a non-profit organization that assists young writers between the ages of 6 and 18 as well as the awesome folks who teach them. If you'd like to send them books, here's the address:
826NYC
Attn: Joan Kim
c/o: readergirlz Rock the Drop
372 Fifth Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215
During yesterday's tweets and texts, we heard about World Book Night, which is happening on April 23rd. Learn more about that, and see if an event is happening in your neck of the woods.
Is this the first time you've heard of Operation Teen Book Drop? Anyone anywhere in the world may participate. It's free, it's fun, and it's global. Want to learn more about it? Click here!
11 March 2011 the Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck Japan.
The country is still rebuilding from the natural and nuclear disaster that resulted from the quake.
Books are beginning to appear to help students understand this tragedy.
Click for Interview with Contributors Leza Lowitz and Shogo Oketani.
The Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, resulted in a massive tsunami that caused the loss of life and livelihood for thousands of people in the northern Tohoku region of Japan. So many teens in Tohoku have lost parents, siblings, relatives, friends, homes, schools, and huge swaths of their cities, towns and villages. Their teen worlds have been upended.
Tomo was published on March 10, 2012. Proceeds from the sales of Tomo will go to organizations that assist teens in the quake and tsunami hit areas. Tomo, which means friend in Japanese, aims to bring Japan stories to young adult readers worldwide, and in so doing, help support teens in Tohoku.
Click to find out how you may be able to obtain a free copy
In just over a week, a group of unpaid professional and citizen journalists who met on Twitter created a book to raise money for Japanese Red Cross earthquake and tsunami relief efforts. In addition to essays, artwork and photographs submitted by people around the world, including people who endured the disaster and journalists who covered it, 2:46: Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake contains a piece by Yoko Ono, and work created specifically for the book by authors William Gibson, Barry Eisler and Jake Adelstein. “The primary goal,” says the book’s editor, a British resident of Japan, “is to record the moment, and in doing so raise money for the Japanese Red Cross Society to help the thousands of homeless, hungry and cold survivors of the earthquake and tsunami. The biggest frustration for many of us was being unable to help these victims. I don’t have any medical skills, and I’m not a helicopter pilot, but I can edit. A few tweets pulled together nearly everything – all the participants, all the expertise – and in just over a week we had created a book including stories from an 80-year-old grandfather in Sendai, a couple in Canada waiting to hear if their relatives were okay, and a Japanese family who left their home, telling their young son they might never be able to return.” ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of the price you pay (net of VAT, sales and other taxes) goes to the Japanese Red Cross Society to aid the victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. If you’d like to donate more, please visit the Japanese Red Cross Society website
The oldest bird in the world, documented with banding, is Wisdom, the Midway Albatross. She was on Midway when the Japanese Tsunami hit and this is her amazing story of survival of manmade and natural disasters for over 60 years. She has survived the dangers of living wild, plastic pollution, longline fishing, lead poisoning, and the Japanese earthquake. At 60, she’s still laying eggs and hatching chicks. It’s a story of survival and hope amidst the difficulties of life.
This title examines an important historic event – the March 11, 2011, earthquake that spawned a devastating tsunami in Japan. Easy-to-read, compelling text explores the dual disaster that resulted in thousands of deaths and left many people homeless. This book also details the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant near Japan’s northeast coast and the recovery efforts following the disasters.
Filed under:
Causes Tagged:
11 March,
japan,
tsunami 
Letter from Birmingham Jail: A Worldwide Celebration on April 16 - An Invitation to Join In!
On April 16th, 2013, the 50th anniversary of the day that Martin Luther King, Jr. began writing his
“Letter from Birmingham Jail,” the Birmingham Public Library will sponsor a program entitled “Letter from Birmingham Jail: A Worldwide Celebration.” We hope that you will join us.
Participants in this program will host public readings from the “Letter” at various locations around the globe: libraries, museums, schools, universities, churches, synagogues, temples, places where people work,
public parks, bookstores, street corners, coffee shops and anywhere that people want to participate. In addition to people who are participating throughout the Birmingham area and around Alabama, we have participants around the globe, from Israel to China, England to South Africa, Northern Ireland to Somalia. More names are being added each day.
People who participate in the readings can read the full text of the “Letter” or selections from the “Letter,” individually, as a group, or however they want to do this. Groups participating may range from two
people to hundreds of people. Readings can be done at any time of the day on April 16th.
When possible we hope people will video or photograph their readings and send those images to us.
To learn more about the program and register your participation, visit
our web site at www.bplonline.org/letterfrombirminghamjail
Jim Baggett, Head
Department of Archives and Manuscripts
Birmingham Public Library
2100 Park Place, Birmingham, AL 35203
205-226-3631 (voice), 205-226-3633 (fax)
jbaggett@bham.lib.al.us
www.BirminghamArchives.org
http://www.facebook.com/BirminghamArchives
Source: NYLINE@listserv.nysed.gov
Filed under:
Causes,
Library Event Tagged:
Birmingham; Martin Luther King Jr,
library event 
We're just three days away from Operation Teen Book Drop 2013! Are you ready to Rock the Drop?
Readergirlz are happy to announce Operation Teen Book Drop 2013! On April 18th, readergirlz will be teaming with Figment, I Heart Daily, Soho Teen, and 826NYC to celebrate YA lit in honor of Support Teen Lit Day on Thursday, April 18th. We can't wait!
This year, in addition to rocking out and dropping our favorite YA titles in public spaces for lucky readers to discover, we're also directing supporters of teen fiction everywhere to consider a book donation to 826NYC to help grow their library.
Here's how you can get involved:
* Follow @readergirlz on Twitter and tweet #rockthedrop
* Print a copy of the bookplate and insert it into a book (or 10!) On April 18th, drop a book in a public spot (park bench, bus seat, restaurant counter?) Lucky finders will see that the book is part of ROCK THE DROP!
* Post the banner at your blog and social networks. Proclaim that you will ROCK THE DROP!
* Snap a photo of your drop and post it at the readergirlz Facebook page. Then tweet the drop at #rockthedrop with all the other lovers of YA books.
This year's bookplate was designed by the super-talented Lindsay Frantz. Thank you, Lindsay!
If you'd like to donate books to 826NYC, here's the address:
826NYC
Attn: Joan Kim
c/o: readergirlz Rock the Drop
372 Fifth Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Visit the readergirlz blog, Facebook page, and Twitter for more news and pictures before, during, and after the event!
Earlier TBDsOur previous book drops: TBD 2008, TBD 2009, TBD 2010, TBD 2011, TBD 2012
It's time to ROCK THE DROP! Today is the day for Operation Teen Book Drop 2013!
Love books? Share them! In honor of Support Teen Lit Day, readergirlz has teamed up with Figment, I Heart Daily, Soho Teen, and 826NYC to celebrate the sixth annual Teen Book Drop. Anyone anywhere in the world may participate simply by leaving the book of their choice in a public place (a coffeehouse, a school, a skateboard park) for someone else to find. It's just that easy! Plus, there's the bonus fun when someone contacts readergirlz to tell them they found the book that you dropped.
If you want to chronicle your drop, share it on social media like this:
* Follow @readergirlz on Twitter and tweet #rockthedrop
* Print a copy of the bookplate and insert it into a book (or 10!) Drop a book in a public spot (park bench, bus seat, restaurant counter?) with a note or Post-It on the front saying something like, "THIS BOOK IS FREE!" or "READ ME!" Lucky finders will see that the book is part of ROCK THE DROP!
* Post the banner at your blog and social networks. Proclaim that you will ROCK THE DROP!
* Snap a photo of your drop and post it at the readergirlz Facebook page. Then tweet the drop with the hashtag #rockthedrop to share the news with other readers.
This year's bookplate was designed by the super-talented Lindsay Frantz. Thank you, Lindsay!
You can also participate on a larger scale, if you'd like, by donating a bunch of books to the place or cause of your choice. Visit a local shelter, a school, a library, a children's hospital, and ask if they take donations. Once you've gotten the okay, gather up new or gently used books from your friends, family, classmates, and co-workers, add the bookplates, tuck in some bookmarks, then drop the books off!
This year, readergirlz is encouraging folks to donate books to 826NYC. If you're interested, here's the address:
826NYC
Attn: Joan Kim
c/o: readergirlz Rock the Drop
372 Fifth Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215
If you're in New York, drop by Figment today - they are giving away TWO books (one to keep, one to drop) to all participants while supplies last! Click here for details.
Visit the readergirlz blog, Facebook page, and Twitter for more news and pictures before, during, and after the event!
Earlier TBDsOur previous book drops: TBD 2008, TBD 2009, TBD 2010, TBD 2011, TBD 2012
I recently received an email from an author stating ”I hate to ask, but…” She had read the review I wrote for her book and she knew I really enjoyed it, so she asked me if I’d nominate it for an award. Can you imagine how she felt? I assume it’s something like how I feel when I as an author to do an interview, but a little worse.
And, she should have to feel like that, shouldn’t have to ask! Reader, I’m on a mission here to promote literacy for teens of color and by default, to promote authors of color and books that feature teens of color. I feel like I’ve been failing that mission. How about you? Are you promoting authors better than I am, and if so what are some of the things you’re doing?
Here are my suggestions.
- As soon as you finish reading this post, go to your local library’s online catalog and look up 2 -3 new books by authors of color or that do an excellent job of featuring main characters of color. If the library does not currently own the books, request that they purchase them.
- Buy your next 2-3 books by authors of color at a local bookstore. Call ahead and if they don’t have the books you want, have them place an order. Wait a few days to pick up the books so that the store employees can have a little time to explore the books.
These next suggestions are really, really important.
Nominate your current favorite books written by authors of color for awards and booklists. We have to stop passively complaining about how few authors who write for teens of color are included in a booklist if we make no effort to have their books included.
You might have missed the opportunity to nominate books for NPRs list of best books ever, but you still have time to vote on the finalists.
Nominations are open for YALSAs Best Fiction for Young Adults. Anyone can nominate a book, but authors cannot nominate their own books. So, nominate for them.
Finally, each state has lists of books that are nominated for awards in that state. These lists are often what teachers look at when selecting books for class reads and many librarians rely upon them to select must have books for their libraries. These lists are critical in getting books by authors of color to become part of the curriculum and thus part of the cultural landscape. Know what list your state uses and know the process for getting books on these lists.
The Cybils will begin soon and what was once a small award among bloggers has grown into something quite prestigious. Be sure to get your favorite authors nominated.
Part of the reason that Latino, African-American, Native American and Asian American authors have a difficult time publishing new books is that they’re not getting on these lists; their works are not getting enough recognition.
Readers, we often hold the key to our favorite author’s success!
It’s really late here. I’ve tried to proofread this, hope I’ve caught my typos but I hope you’re feeling my passion here and I hope it motivates you to do something!
Filed under:
awards,
Causes Tagged:
authors,
booklists,
literacy 
![]()
The following is an invitation to ‘the party’. It’s a chance to represent the often unrepresented.
As part of its year-long National Forum on Libraries and Teens project, YALSA will host a Teens & Libraries Summit Jan. 23-24, 2013, in Seattle. The Summit will feature speakers, panels and small group discussion to examine the current state of library services for and with young adults, and to explore how library services may need to evolve to meet the needs of 21st century adolescents. Funds provided by IMLS will be used to cover the cost of travel and related expenses for 15 applicants who wish to participate in the Summit. Key stakeholders from the areas of libraries, education, technology, adolescent development and the for-profit and nonprofit sectors are encouraged to apply (.doc) by Nov. 1, 2012. The 15 accepted applicants will join with approximately 35 other stakeholders at the face-to-face Summit. At the conclusion of the year-long Forum, YALSA will produce a white paper which will provide direction on how library services for and with teens needs to adapt and potentially change to better meet the needs of 21st century teens. To learn more about the National Forum, read the initial press release.
This post originally appeared on the YALSA Blog.
Filed under:
Causes,
professional development Tagged:
Leaders Summit,
yalsa 
International Book Giving Day is a volunteer initiative aimed at getting books in the hands of as many children as possible on February 14, 2013.
International Book Giving Day’s focus is on encouraging people worldwide to engage in simple acts of giving. We will invite individuals to: 1) give a book to a friend or family member, 2) leave a book in a waiting room for children to read, or 3) donate a book to a local hospital, shelter or library or to an organization that distributes used books to children internationally.
In addition, we will encourage people to support the work of nonprofit organizations (i.e. charities) that work year round to give books to children, such as Room to Read, Books for Africa, Book Aid International, The Book Bus, Indigenous Literacy Foundation and Pratham Books.
source: http://asiaintheheart.blogspot.com/2012/12/international-book-giving-day-is.html
Filed under:
Causes,
literacy Tagged:
International Book Giving Day 
The Coretta Scott King Book Awards Donation Grant was created to help build collections and bring books into the lives of children in latchkey, preschool programs, faith-based reading projects, homeless shelters, charter schools and underfunded libraries. An enduring message of the Committee’s Public Awareness Campaign is that books and reading can only add value to children’s lives if books are present with opportunities to read. The Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee believes children lives must be saturated with books and reading opportunities. The Book Donation Grant addresses these objectives.
Though the grant is particularly interested in giving books to nontraditional institutions that provide both educational and custodial services to children and their families, under-funded libraries are welcome to apply.
Applications must be received by January 31, 2013.
For additional information, including background, criteria, guidelines, and application instructions, visit, www.ala.org/emiert/cskbookawards/bookgrant.
Filed under:
Causes,
Grants Tagged:
Coretta Scott King Book Donation Grant 
I’ve been working on my list of January 2013 releases by authors of color. Last year, I was able to list 17 January releases and this year I’ve found 8. I’m going to continue to do some searching and publish my list tomorrow. Please!! Feel free to mention MG and YA titles of which you’re aware. You can find my list beginning to for on the bottom of this page. 
As I’ve been gathering titles, I ran across a publishing company with which I haven’t been familiar: Tiny Satchel Press. What a wonderful find! Tiny Satchel was found by columnist, award winning journalist, cancer survivor and community leader Victoria Brownworth. In an interview with Lambda Iiterary, she gave the following insights into Tiny Satchell Press.
___________________________________
Let’s talk about the new imprint. What was the inspiration behind Tiny Satchel?
I’d been acquiring and editing young adult books for five or six years for a mainstream publisher. I was enjoying doing it, but I kept being aware that some books I pitched would get the “we don’t think there’s a readership or audience for that.” And consistently it seemed to me to be books with characters of color or queer. It started to irk me. My own fiction always has a political undercurrent I just don’t think anyone can be too young to have a range of characters with whom to identify. I wanted more range. So I wanted to provide books that I would want to read if I were nine or 12 or 15.
One of the biggest complaints I hear from young readers and parents is that there are few middle-grade books coming out with LGBT themes, why do you think that is?
Fear and money. Publishing is unbelievably expensive. Printing is expensive. Marketing is expensive. Writers and editors have to make a living. The tried-and-true is easy.
___________________________________
HOORAY for Tiny Satchel!
In January, they’ll be releasing Bereft by Craig Laurance Gidney.
Rafael Fannen is a 13-year old boy who has won a minority scholarship to Our Lady of the Woods, an all male Catholic college preparatory school. Winning the scholarship quickly turns into a nightmare, as Rafe has to deal with the racism of his fellow students and his teachers. In addition to the culture shock, Rafe also has to deal with his burgeoning sexuality. Rafe is caught staring at Toby, an attractive and charismatic classmate, in the shower, Toby begins a relentless campaign of bullying against Rafe, including violent encounters.
When Rafe decides to fight back and take control of his life, the lives of everyone around him will change. But none more than his own.Bereft addresses the issues of bullying, sexuality, child abuse, mental illness and racism in a haunting and deeply compelling style.source
Filed under:
Causes,
New Books Tagged:
January,
Tiny Satchel Press 
“That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.”
On this, the 200th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the document continues to be housed in the National Archives.
Emancipation Day is celebrated in African American communities throughout the United States.
Filed under: Causes, culture Tagged: Emancipation Day 
Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature is an organization advocating for multicultural children’s literature which includes
librarians, teachers, parents, caregivers, students, and experts in the field of children’s literature.
Eligibility
Libraries and community organizations that serve children and their families who are having a Día program, El Día de Los Niños/El Día de Los Libros (Children’s Day/Book Day) on or about April 30, 2012, with an African American Focus are eligible to apply.
If interested, you will need to submit an application. Please email me at crazyquilts at hotmail dot com and I’ll forward the file to you.
Deadline Applications must be received by March 15, 2013.
Award will be announced on or about March 30, 2013.
Return/mail applications to
Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s
Literature, c/o Dr. Claudette McLinn, executive director, 8461 South Van
Ness Avenue, Inglewood, CA 90305.
Award Amount
$500 grant in selected multicultural children’s books for your library.
Selection Criteria
Awardees will be selected based upon creativity and originality of the
implementation of their 2012 Día program, El Día de Los Niños/El Día de
Los Libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), with an African American Focus.
The winning library or institution must submit 15 digital photos of the event
by May 15 to verify the event had taken place.
Filed under:
awards,
Causes Tagged:
dia de los libros,
Dia de los Ninos 
We recently provided books to Healing Haiti, an organization that currently supports 53 orphans, living in two small orphanages who have lost their families to extreme poverty, hurricanes and AIDS. For kids with such great needs, this small donation seems trivial, but I mention it because I Get Around concept has always included getting books around to kids and families who may not have them for various reasons. The bookmark shown here is now included in some books sold at retail, even though donating books has always been—and always will be—part of the plan.
Happy Earth Day! Here's a cool recycling program that TerraCycle Inc just announced which will lead to schools and communities getting new playgrounds. I don't wear flip-flops myself, so I'm posting this in hopes that those of you who do will donate your worn-out or outgrown pairs of flip-flops to this worthy cause.
Dear TerraCycle Brigade® Participants,
TerraCycle® is proud to announce that we have partnered with Old Navy to collect used flip-flops at Old Navy stores through the Flip Flop Brigade! The Brigade begins on Earth Day Friday, April 22nd and runs until the bins are full or Saturday, May 21st (whichever comes first) in all continental US Old Navy stores.
Just bring your used flip-flops to the Old Navy nearest you and look for the TerraCycle collection bin located near the store entrance. Once the collection bins are full, Old Navy will ship the flip-flops to TerraCycle to be recycled into playgrounds that Old Navy will give away to a few lucky schools and community organizations. If your Brigade location is interested in becoming a recipient of a TerraCycle Old Navy playground, please complete the TerraCycle Old Navy Playground Questionnaire.
Not only will you keep your used flip-flops out of the landfill, but you will also be helping to create a positive play environment for some deserving schools and community organizations. Now that’s flip-n-cool!
Participation in the Flip-Flop Brigade is simple and it’s completely FREE. There is no purchase necessary and you do not need to sign up on terracycle.net to participate.
For more information please contact TerraCycle customer service at 866-967-6766 or customersupport@terracycle.net. Or to find an Old Navy store near you go to http://www.oldnavy.com/storelocator.
Happy collecting,
The TerraCycle Team
* Please note that unfortunately this program is not available in Old Navy stores located in Canada, Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico.
I add: If you are in one of those places, just send your flip-flops in the mail to a friend in another region so that he or she may donate them on your behalf!</i>
Someone told me that to be a good librarian, I shouldn’t just read librarian related materials. This makes sense because librarians should be able to guide users to all kinds of information. For example, as a high school librarian, I have numerous conversations with students and staff about college. I was glad to see this series being put together by HigherEdJobs on “Making College Accessible”. This is the introduction to the first article in the series:
HigherEd Careers will be doing a special series addressing the topic of “Making College Accessible.” Our guests will be discussing critical issues surrounding making post-secondary education open to all who desire it. These individuals include students of minority populations, the unique opportunities and challenges associated with first generation college students, and the issues of financing higher education for economically disadvantaged students. Through these interviews we will also examine how staff and faculty at our colleges and universities manage these key issues today.
To begin the series with our June HigherEd Careers interview, we are pleased to have Mr. Neil Horikoshi, President and Executive Director of the Asian and Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (APIASF). Mr. Horikoshi will be discussing ways to support the Asian and Pacific Islander students in higher education, myths and challenges associated with this population, and advice on how to succeed at working in higher education, specifically within a distinctly multi-cultural community.
After reading, we invite you to continue the discussion in our LinkedIn group or follow HigherEd Careers on Twitter.
Filed under:
Causes Tagged:
asian and pacific islander; high education 
I just learned about The Make It Safe Project at Lee Wind's blog. I hope that you (yes, you, wonderful readers) will help support Amelia's efforts. Here's more about the project, as detailed at their website:
The Make It Safe Project donates books about sexual orientation and gender expression to schools and youth homeless shelters that lack the resources to keep their teens safe.
Giving: We donate books to K-12 schools, their Gay-Straight Alliances (a group that educates the school community about equality), and LGBT-inclusive youth homeless shelters nationwide. For information on how you can help give books or receive books for your school or shelter, please click here.
Support: If you are wondering what starting, leading, or joining a GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) would be like, you can browse through stories written by teens who have been involved with GSAs here.
Advice: If you have experience starting, leading, or being in a GSA, you can anonymously submit a story about your experience here.
One book can save a life.
For every $100 raised, the Make It Safe Project sends a pack of GLBTQ books to a school or youth homeless shelter. The pack will include around ten of the books on the following list:
Fiction BooksAsh by Melinda Lo
Annie On My Mind by Nancy Gardener
Empress of the World by Sara Ryan
Luna by Julie Anne Peters
Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by David Levithan
Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger
Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez
Nonfiction BooksIt Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living edited by Dan Savage and Terry Miller
GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Teens by Kelly Huegel
Queer: The Ultimate LGBT Guide for Teens by Kathy Belge
Kicked Out edited by Sassafras Lowry
Like Me by Chely Wright
Let's Get This Straight: The Ultimate Handbook for Youth with LGBTQ Parents by Tina Fakhrid-Deen
If you are a student, teacher, parent, or principal at any K-12 school or a volunteer or client at a youth homeless shelter in the USA and your school or shelter is in need of books, please contact
the Make It Safe Project.
Just read this post and wanted to pass it along in hopes that others would help:
Fellow Blogger loses everything...
January 21, 2012, Posted by Donna at 11:05 am
One of our fellow bloggers and dear friend Yara lost everything yesterday in a devastating house fire. She and her family are all safe, but they have lost everything.
If you want to help Yara and her family we suggest you do so through the Twilight Moms site. If you want to support Yara, please follow this link.
We totally trust that Lisa and the Twilight Moms will make sure every penny reaches Yara and her family. And every penny will help them rebuild the pieces of their world.
Sending positive thoughts your way, Yara!
~EFG Staff
To help and/or donate, please
click here.
* Snag the bookplate - download it HERE - created by the uber-talented David Ostow (who blogs hilarious cartoons here), and add it to your blog and social networks, linking back to this post to share the love. Proclaim that you will ROCK THE DROP!* Print a copy of the bookplate and insert it into a book (or 10!) to drop on April 12th. Drop a book in a public spot (park bench, bus seat, restaurant counter?). Lucky finders will see that the book is part of ROCK THE DROP! * Plan to snap a photo and post it at the readergirlz facebook page. Then tweet the drop at #rockthedrop with all the other lovers of YA books.
Get ready for the celebration! Get ready to rock!
I probably should save these comments so that I could actually have something to write about come Sunday, but heck! I’m on spring break and I’ve got nothing but ideas!
First, I have to share with you that I’ve gotten a new position! I’ll be working as an Assistant Reference Librarian at Indiana State University beginning this spring and if it weren’t for all the books (and other stuff) that need to be packed between now and then, I’d be flipping cartwheels!
I did take time out for a walk this morning and enjoyed the cool crisp air as much and the pink and white blossoms on the trees. Such beauty really got me to thinking… about books… Does your local Barnes and Noble have a Starbucks? Mine does and I’m wondering why the Starbucks near me doesn’t have a Barnes and Noble. I mean, many people actually sit for a spell 
at Starbucks, taking the time to read, computer or just chat. So, why don’t these companies increase each of their sales potential by putting books for sale in the Starbucks and heck, while they’re at it why not allow Nook access in the Starbucks just like at B&N? Seems like a no brainer to me!
Voya just shared an article based discussion on Twitter regarding “The power of Young Adult Fiction.”
Have you ever noticed how national news programs send the Latino guy to cover Latino issues and the Black guy to cover Black issues? I hate when they do that because while the network looks like they’re relating ethnically diverse issues, they’re really marginalizing the issue and stamping it as a Latino/Asia/Native American issue and not as a people issue.
To me, that’s what the New York Times has done with their piece on Young Adult fiction. Why not have a White author address diversity? An Asian address complexities and Latina talk about social networking? Why let readers continue to believe that the lack of diversity that surrounds us only continues to concern people of color? And, by the same token make it seem as if people of color have no other issues? Go on, join the discussion!
Time to pack some more boxes!
Filed under:
Causes,
Me Being Me Tagged:
Barnes and Noble,
nook,
NY Times,
Starbucks 
3 Comments on Expanding the Margins, last added: 3/29/2012
“In 1962, Fannie Lou Hamer decided she wanted to try to register to vote after attending a SNCC voter registration meeting at William Chapel Church in Ruleville, MS pastored by the late Rev. J. D. Story. It would turn out to be just another way of asking to die.
After returning home, Mrs. Hamer was ordered to go and take her name off the registrar’s book. If she refused to do so, she would have to move. Refuse she did and move she did.
I didn’t go register for you sir, I did it for myself”, replied Fannie Lou to her boss. Mr. W. D. Marlowe. She was kicked off the plantation where she had lived for the past eighteen years.
Sixteen shots were fired into The Tuckers home over the bed Mrs. Hamer slept where she had fled for safety. “God had already told me to move on, so I wasn’t there that night,” Fannie said.
Fannie Lou Hamer, June E. Johnson, James West, Euvester Simpson, Annelle Ponder and others were jailed in Winona, Mississippi. Two black prisoners were ordered to beat Mrs. Hamer. She was beaten so badly she no longer had feelings in her legs.
Mrs. Hamer’s passion for her people and her interest and understanding of how powerful the political process was in America led her and others to create the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to challenge the Credential Committee in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1964 to be seated rather than the regular Democrats who they exclaimed were “illegally elected” based on discriminatory practices against blacks statewide. “We Will Not Accept The Compromise”, stated Mrs. Hamer”. read more
A life-sized (all of her 5’4”) bronze statue of civil rights great Fannie Lou Hamer will be unveiled at her burial site in Ruleville, MS, on October 5 at 10AM. This will be the very first statue of a civil rights activist in the MS Delta. The artist has been selected and is working on the piece at the moment. The statue committee has raised almost $70,000 and is still trying to find the remaining $30,000 The artist has agreed to work on the installment plan if necessary.
From the Fannie Lou Hamer Statue Project Committee:
We invite you to join us in helping to assure that the life contributions of Fannie Lou Hamer will be forever recognized by placing a much deserved statue at the heart of the City of Ruleville to pay homage to one of the great-est civil rights leader of our time. Please make your contribution today.
Donations are tax deductible and all contributions will be made available to the public. Credit card payments can be made at www.nbuf.org. Please make checks payable to NBUF in care of Fannie Lou Hamer Statue Fund.
Mail to:
National Black United Fund
40 Clinton Street – 5th Floor
Newark, New Jersey 07102.
Updates on The Fannie Lou Hamer Statue Project are available at www.fannielouhamer.info/donors. You can find us on Facebook
Filed under:
Causes Tagged:
Fannie Lou Hamer,
Mississippi Delta
0 Comments on Recognizing a Hero as of 1/1/1900
My platform focuses on the value of membership in the association. ALA exists for members in practical, relevant ways. In a time when we are faced with fiscal uncertainties, a growing impact of technology on core library collections and services, and staffing challenges, the library community needs to know that ALA is there for them. I am prepared to continue my service to the library community as President of the American Library Association, by advancing what I believe are three issues affecting all of us: Diversity, Career Development, and Engagement and Outreach..jpg?picon=441)
Take care.
I voted for Courtney.
Yes! I’ve been reading glowing recommendations for her on my listservs.