“Freedom Through Literacy”
Est. 2010 in memory of Judith F. Krug
Finally, Honorable Mention Awards (no cash award) are given to those applicants who the judges want to acknowledge and think deserve encouragement. The idea behind the Honorable Mention Awards is to propel the applicants to continue their literacy efforts and to apply for future Freedom Through Literacy Awards.
Pamela Laskin, author, New York City for her project, “Diversity and Differently-Abled.” Two-time Freedom Through Literacy Award winner, Laskin has completed a series of picture books that capture the world of those who are differently-abled; in particular, those without speech, and what it means in a family. She reads these books aloud in public school classrooms with the goal to educate a mainstream audience.
Evangelia Ritzaleou, award-winning high school teacher, Drama, Greece for her project, “School Reading and Creative Writing Club.” Evangelia knows what she is talking about when she documents the effects of book clubs on kids — she has, after all, headed up a Reading and Creative Writing Club at her school for 15 years.
Colin Bloom, 16-year-old New York City high school student and founder of a literacy nonprofit for his project, “Creating a Library for Literacy at the Senianya Primary School in Mpumalanga, South Africa.” Colin is a standout on multiple levels: as a teenager, he established a nonprofit, Libraries for Literacy, has dedicated two libraries in impoverished rural South Africa, has assertively insinuated himself into partnerships with global entities, and has shown tenacity, drive, entrepreneurship, compassion and a desire to learn and improve from each experience.
Victor Owuor, after-school program coordinator, the Sunflower Trust, Nairobi, Kenya for his project, “Pathway to Alternative Learning Education (PALE).” As World Literacy Ambassador since 2022 representing Kenya, Victor understands what it means when one lacks resources to attend school: He was born and bred in the informal settlement of Kibera slum, Nairobi. Sunflower Trust works in partnership with community schools to identify girls, in the fifth grade, who are at risk of ending their education early and transitions them to the after-school, part-time PALE program.
The $1,500 Judith’s Award winner is Amber Drinen for “R.E.A.D. in Beauty Bookmobile” project, an initiative of Chinle Planting Hope in Chinle, Arizona, a Native-controlled nonprofit that supervises the Bookmobile which serves 34,000 members of the Navajo Nation, where there is no public library.
The $2,500 Grand Prize goes to award-winning children’s book author Ty Jackson for his youth financial literacy project: “The Danny Dollar Entrepreneur Fair,” Fresno, California. Ty, a previous winner of the coveted Judith’s Award, developed a creative program based on his book, Make Your Own Money: How Kids Can Earn It, Save It, Spend It, and Dream Big.