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2020 FREEDOM THROUGH LITERACY AWARD
GRAND PRIZE – 2020 Freedom Through Literacy
Grand Prize Award – $2,500
Christopher McGilvery, “Teachers and Student Ambassadors Project”
Canyon, Texas
Supporting one another with the power of literacy. For Chris McGilvery, this is the story he wants to tell in his community. Through his work with The Leaders Readers Network, Chris engages teachers across the United States and Dominica to grow leadership and literacy skills for students. The project partners with teachers to facilitate “buddy” teams in which older students read aloud to younger students while also learning about the
effects of illiteracy.
To date, Chris and his team have trained 205 students, partnered with 215 teachers, and impacted over 55,000 students’ lives.
It is with great enthusiasm that we honor Chris McGilvery as the Grand Prize winner of the 2020 Freedom Through Literacy Award for his innovative, child-centered approach to foster a love of reading – and leadership! – for children across the United States.
“This award inspires me to continue to build and grow the important work we are doing to support education equity and literacy for all.”
-Chris McGilvery
Videos
Slide Show
JUDITH’S AWARD – 2020 Freedom Through Literacy
Judith’s Award – $1,500
Ty Allan Jackson, “Big Head Books”
Bronx, New York
Too often, children’s books represent non-white protagonists within a narrow range of topics. Award-winning author Ty Allan Jackson writes highly engaging books that buck this tradition, offering children who don’t always see themselves in the stories they read the opportunity for a different portrayal of their lives.
His books, including Danny Dollar Millionaire Extraordinaire and The Supadupa Kid superhero series, have garnered the attention of several awards and features on local and national news. More importantly, they have reached countless young Black and other minoritzed children with a powerful message:
your story is limitless.
We recognize Ty as winner of the 2020 Judith’s Award for his commitment to expanding narratives with his books.
“As an Indie author winning this award is a surreal experience. Awards usually go to the more established authors. The ones with the big followings and who dominate the bookshelves in bookstores and libraries across the county. Not the authors fighting to be noticed or begging bookstore to carry our works. So this award means that the little guy can make it. Get the accolade and gain the respect of the world of literature. But most importantly receive the love for those we write and draw for…our children.
Thank you for proving that our work matters!
-Ty Allan Jackson”
Video
Slide Show
BOARD OPTION PRIZES – 2020 Freedom Through Literacy
Board Option Prize – $500
Charmaine Tsosie, “Chinle Planting Hope”
Navajo Nation, Chinle, Arizona
create educational opportunities for whole families. She and her team will establish a mobile library vibrant with adult and
children’s’ books to inspire inter-generational reading habits among families who currently do not have access to a brickand-mortar library in Chinle. We warmly honor Charmaine with a Board Option Award to accelerate her work on the
mobile library.
“Winning the award is such an honor to my community and me. It feels like the Navajo Nation is seen and heard.”
-Charmaine Tsosie
Basarat Kazim, “Camel Library for Kech Balochistan”
Lahore, Pakistan
“Your support provides opportunities to thousands of girls to access treasures untold!! May they find the keys to the locked doors that hold them back.”
-BasaratKazim
UPDATES!
An Amazing Update From Writing Through
Cathy Leiber recently spoke with Sue Guiney, a Runner-up Prize Winner in 2016, we still find it amazing on how our recognition matters for others “fighting” the battle of literacy all over the world. Here is an update from Sue.
Four years in a life doesn’t seem like much. But in the lifetime of a non-profit, it can mean the difference between broken dreams and expanding horizons. In 2016, I was honored to receive a Judith’s Reading Room award for the work I had begun with my newly founded NGO, Writing Through. Still in our infancy, we were testing and developing our programs in Cambodia, using the writing of poems and stories to develop literacy and self-esteem in that tragic nation. At that time, I was full of dreams for growing my organization, but “the how” was still a mystery.
Much has happened over the past four years. Between 2016 and 2019, Writing Through expanded to include working with over twenty organizations throughout Cambodia, and then into Singapore, and then Vietnam. We were reaching hundreds of students, young adults and adults alike, throughout the region with a staff of 1.5 and nearly 50 volunteers. Plus, I had realized that the workshops we were running were accomplishing even more than literacy and self-esteem. It became clear to us all that Writing Through was actually using creative writing as a tool to develop thinking skills. Once our triumvirate of goals became clearer – Thinking Skills, Language Fluency, and Self-Esteem via Creative Writing – the demand for our programming grew, and so did our staff. There are now 3 of us who oversee it all, always also relying on our ever-growing global list of volunteers.
On a personal note, after living in London for 26 years, I repatriated back to the United States. The plan was to visit SE Asia twice a year and work remotely the rest of the time as CEO. During the first two years of moving back, that is exactly what I did. Then came 2020 and the pandemic.
We did not allow these troubled times defeat us, though. Actually, we used the skills we had been teaching to imagine new ways to deliver our programming, and we realized that CoVid and the necessity for online learning was, for us, an opportunity. Over this past spring and summer, we developed an online platform for our workshops. This immediately allowed us to reach people around the globe in a way we never could have imagined. A series of free, public workshops saw Zoom screens full of people from as far away as Mexico, to India, to Cambodia, to the US and Canada. And as our partners started needing online lessons, we were there to provide them. Because of online programming, we have not only further expanded our list of partners in SE Asia, but we have also begun US pilot programs in Pennsylvania, California and Massachusetts. And more is on the horizon.
The encouragement I received early on from Judith’s Reading Room helped me believe I was on the right track. It helped me believe that I could accomplish my goals and that there were many others in the world waiting to work with me. Through Writing Through, I have been able to prove what I have always known in my heart, namely that the arts, and especially the language arts, teach people how to think. Everyone in the world has the right to literacy of language and thought. Whether in person or online, Writing Through now helps marginalized and at-risk populations throughout the world learn these skills, wherever we are needed.
Sue Guiney, Founder and CEO www.writingthrough.org
Books Purchased for Board Option Prize Winner, Charmaine Tsosie
News, News and more news from 2020 Grand Prize Winner
Congratulations to Chris McGilvery for meriting this coverage!!
Hope you are having a good week. I am so honored to be the grand prize winner and represent Judith Krug’s legacy. What an honor. Please let the board know how appreciative I am and look forward to living out her legacy for my lifetime. 🙂 Have a great day!
***** see below for news links *****
Kindly, Chris McGilvery
Founder and Executive Director
www.leadersreadersnetwork.org
The news, news and more news….
From West Texas A&M University – Literacy Nonprofit Founded by WT Staffer Wins National Award
From myhighplains.com: Literacy Nonprofit Founded by WT Staffer Wins National Award
From News Channel 10: Nationally recognized Canyon-based literacy program taking application
10th Anniversary ‘Stand Out’ Library – Casa Guadalupe
To celebrate its 10th Anniversary, Judith’s Reading Room, a global literacy non-profit organization founded in 2010 kept good on its promise to bolster libraries it has donated over its 10 year history.
Judith’s Reading Room’s 10th Anniversary – 10 ‘Stand Out’ Libraries
In addition to libraries, Judith’s Reading Room holds an annual competition for the “Freedom Through Literacy Award.” Initiated in 2015, Judith’s Reading Room has disbursed $33,500 in prize money, honoring 31 individual champions of literacy in the United States, the Philippines, Bhutan, Pakistan, Rwanda, Cambodia, Mexico, Australia, Zimbabwe and Greece.
Applications for the 2020 Freedom Through Literacy Award may be found at www.judithsreadingroom.org/freedom-through-literacy-award/. Deadline is July 1st. Winners announced end of July.
10th Anniversary ‘Stand Out’ Library – Harkins House
To celebrate its 10th Anniversary, Judith’s Reading Room, a global literacy non-profit organization founded in 2010 kept good on its promise to bolster libraries it has donated over its 10 year history.
The idea is to instill in this unique population a love of reading. Why? Literacy is a significant protective factor for at-risk youth and is strongly correlated with reducing recidivism, according to Mindy Chipps, Juvenile Counselor. Harkins House serves over 100 youth per year. Last year the number totaled 122 with 80% returning to their community. She added, “Literacy is supported by everyone at Harkins House because books help kids returning to school by dropping barriers, heightening interest, and fostering the love of favorite topics.”
Chipps added that youth residing at Harkins House have the opportunity to actually read a book, unencumbered by stresses and strains from their often untenable home environments. Most stay 60 days and in that time, many come to see reading a book as a way to escape painful environments.
Shopping at Barnes & Noble for books for the donation to Harkins House in Portland, Oregon. David Leiber received book wish list from Harkins House and successfully found most of their request.
Letter and more photo’s of delivered books!
(Updated April 18, 2020)Hello,
I hope this finds you and yours safe and healthy. We are living in such a different world right now.
I included the approved pictures from your visit. I read the press release from your visit, it is great! All of our youth have been enjoying the books you donated and have been sharing their awesome summaries of the books, it is wonderful to see.
Look forward to our continued partnership!
Judith’s Reading Room & Harkins House
The 10 Judith’s Reading Room ‘Stand Out’ libraries are:
- Teach Rwanda, Muhanga, South Province Rwanda
- Rev. Dr, Leoda Topps, Pastor, Avery Chapel Chapel AME Church, Southaven, Mississippi
- Casa Guadalupe, Allentown, Pennsylvania
- Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- VA “100 “ Program at Various VA Hospitals, Lebanon, Pennsylvania
- Harkins’ House, Portland, Oregon
- Anjali House, Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Alif Laila Book Bus Society, Lehore, Pakistan
- La Palapa Society, Todos Santos, Mexico
- The Leadership Center, Zambrano, Honduras
“By supporting the good work of others, we aspire to share and celebrate people who are doing genuinely astonishing work, instilling in others a love of reading,” said Scott Leiber, Co-Founder of Judith’s Reading Room.
In addition to libraries, Judith’s Reading Room holds an annual competition for the “Freedom Through Literacy Award.” Initiated in 2015, Judith’s Reading Room has disbursed $33,500 in prize money, honoring 31 individual champions of literacy in the United States, the Philippines, Bhutan, Pakistan, Rwanda, Cambodia, Mexico, Australia, Zimbabwe and Greece.
Applications for the 2020 Freedom Through Literacy Award may be found at www.judithsreadingroom.org/freedom-through-literacy-award/. Deadline is July 1st. Winners announced end of July.
Judith’s Reading Room Celebrates Harkins House
NEWS RELEASE
CONTACT: Cathy Leiber
March 18, 2020 — . To celebrate its 10th Anniversary, Judith’s Reading Room, a global literacy non-profit organization founded in 2010 kept good on its promise to bolster libraries it has donated over its 10 year history.
The idea is to instill in this unique population a love of reading. Why? Literacy is a significant protective factor for at-risk youth and is strongly correlated with reducing recidivism, according to Mindy Chipps, Juvenile Counselor. Harkins House serves over 100 youth per year. Last year the number totaled 122 with 80% returning to their community. She added, “Literacy is supported by everyone at Harkins House because books help kids returning to school by dropping barriers, heightening interest, and fostering the love of favorite topics.”
Chipps added that youth residing at Harkins House have the opportunity to actually read a book, unencumbered by stresses and strains from their often untenable home environments. Most stay 60 days and in that time, many come to see reading a book as a way to escape painful environments.
Applications for the 2020 Freedom Through Literacy Award may be found at Judith’s Reading Room Freedom Through Literacy. The deadline for receipt of completed applications is July 1st. Winners will be announced by the end of July.