Tag: heavy sound

2024 Founders’ Award Recipient – Jordan Butler

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NEWS RELEASE

CONTACT: Cathy Leiber
www.JudithsReadingRoom.org

Judith’s Reading Room Names Recipient of its 2024 Founders’ Award
In honor of literacy heroes everywhere who nourish souls and fulfill dreams

September 12, 2024 — Judith’s Reading Room, a global literacy nonprofit organization founded in 2010 in the memory of Judith F. Krug, a distinguished librarian and first-cousin to the organization’s founders, established in 2022 its signature “Founders’ Award” to honor literacy heroes who have had to overcome immense obstacles to enrich lives through literacy.

Cathy and Scott Leiber, founders of Judith’s Reading Room, proudly announce that Jordan Butler, himself founder of the nonprofit Heavy Sound, East Lothian, Scotland is named recipient of the 2024 Founders’ Award. Cathy and Scott met Butler in August 2024 to dedicate the 107 th Judith’s Reading Room library in its 24th country at Heavy Sound, located near Edinburgh in the seaside village of East Lothian, Scotland.

L to R: Jordan Butler, Cathy Leiber, Scott Leiber at Heavy Sound, East Lothian, Scotland

Based on his own lived experience of homelessness, mental health, addiction and involvement in the criminal justice system of Scotland, Butler turned his life around, and in a herculean effort founded Heavy Sound to help other vulnerable and disconnected young people. Today, it is a thriving hub for some of the most vulnerable, at-risk and hardest to reach young people in Scotland. Heavy Sound provides a trusted space devoted to teaching bicycle repair, musical
instrumentation, and access to literacy through the recently dedicated Judith’s Reading Room library (shown below) filled with 124 ‘must-have’ Graphic Novels.
Judith’s Reading Room Library #107, East Lothian, Scotland

Butler recognizes the barriers illiteracy causes that haunt people throughout their lives. He sought to cut the cycle by inspiring and supporting others to become readers and writers. As a boy, Butler found solace from a dysfunctional home inside his community library. That library was a haven and shelter from the storm, while the librarians provided understanding and compassion. The library, librarians and books saved his life.

In recognition of Butler’s measurable impact on the life of disaffected fellow citizens, and his dedication to bring literature into their lives, Judith’s Reading Room is proud to name Butler its 2024 Founders’ Award recipient and awards him with a prize of $1,000.For more information about Judith’s Reading Room’s initiatives, including previous recipients of the Founders’ Award, visit www.judithsreadingroom.org.

The Founders’ Award
2024 – Mr. Jordan Butler, Heavy Sound, East Lothian, Edinburgh, Scotland
2022 – Ms. Basarat Kazim, Alif Laila Book Bus Society, Lahore, Pakistan
2022 – Ms. Simon Ke, Anjali House, Siem Reap, Cambodia

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Graphic Novels Comprise Curated Library

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NEWS RELEASE

CONTACT: Cathy Leiber
www.JudithsReadingRoom.org

Graphic Novels Comprise Curated Library Destined for
Children in Scotland with Poor/No Literacy

 

Updates – August 2024

Photos taken today at the dedication of our 107th library in our 24th country. The 124 graphic novels were hand-picked for the at-risk children with low or no literacy skills served by Heavy Sound. The books were curated by The Scottish Book Trust.

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Link to: SCOTTISH BOOK TRUST PRESS RELEASE ***

April 16, 2024 —  Judith’s Reading Room today purchased 124 teenage graphic novels identified by The Scottish Book Trust, Edinburgh, Scotland that will constitute a first-ever library at Heavy Sound in East Lothian, Scotland when Judith’s Reading Room dedicates its 107th library in its 24th country.

Reading has to start somewhere and kids need to develop confidence that they can do it.  For many, graphic novels are the perfect stepping stone for reluctant readers or for kids afraid of seeing so many words on a page.  The 124 ‘must-have’ graphic novels were purchased at Center Valley, PA Barnes & Noble with a cover price of $2,456 and will be shipped to coincide with the dedication of the library on August 10, 2024.

“Graphic novel kids can relate to pictures and that helps them understand the storyline,” said Barnes & Noble Manager Erin Cornish.  She added, “Once they grasp the reading aspect, the light bulb goes on!”  Cornish and her colleagues Kayla Sharott and Amy Schenkenberger scoured the stacks and ordered the books to create the perfect collection.

The Judith’s Reading Room’s 107th library will be installed at Heavy Sound, a nonprofit based in East Lothian, Scotland that works with some of Scotland’s most vulnerable and disconnected teens with poor to no literacy.  Heavy Sound recognizes the barriers illiteracy causes throughout their lives and therefore aims to inspire and support them to become readers and writers.

“The idea is to not only get these kids onto grade level reading, but to instill in them a love of reading that will catapult them into a lifelong relationship with literature,” said Cathy Leiber, President, Judith’s Reading Room.

 

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Outstanding Service Award — Dorothy Martin, Travel Specialist

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Outstanding Service Award — Dorothy Martin, Travel Specialist

Travel Agent Honored for Commitment to Expanding Social Impact of Judith’s Reading Room

July 3, 2024 — In pursuit of its mission, “to enrich lives and societies by proactively encouraging freedom through literacy,” Judith’s Reading Room, a literacy nonprofit based in eastern Pennsylvania, honored Dorothy Martin, Travel Specialist with Grand European Travel (GET) for her compassion to improve the lives of at-risk youth in Edinburgh, Scotland.  Martin received the organization’s Outstanding Service Award and will be acknowledged during the dedication of Judith’s Reading Room’s 107th library in Edinburgh on August 10.

At a meeting in September 2023 in Tigard, a suburb of Portland, Oregon, Judith’s Reading Room introduced its capability to offer curated libraries with books in English to local schools and established its hope that through the good offices of GET, the organization’s mission would be communicated to travelers and travel agents alike.

Judith’s Reading Room will dedicate its library at Heavy Sound, a nonprofit organization in Edinburgh that serves care-experienced youth.  The curated collection of 124 graphic novels valued at $2,456 was achieved through the collaboration of The Scottish Book Trust.

“An innovative way to step up the expansion of our organization’s presence around the world is to link up with travel organizations that are committed to making a positive social impact in the communities they visit.  GET is exactly that kind of organization, evidenced by its compassionate travel specialist Dorothy Martin, its TreadRight Foundation and ‘Be My Guest’ initiatives,” said Cathy Leiber, President, Judith’s Reading Room.

Travel organizations like GET understand that American travelers are looking for deeper connections and experiences such as when travelers read to children in local schools.  This is where Judith’s Reading Room comes in, as the organization is set up to provide the perfect books in English for the school, orphanage, day care or community center.

Including Edinburgh, Scotland, Judith’s Reading Room will have dedicated 107 libraries in 24 countries with 133,000 books donated worth more than $1.4 million.  The organization’s 2024 goal is to expand library donations across Europe.  Currently, Judith’s Reading Room has created 5 libraries in Romania, two in Albania, and one in The Kyrgyz Republic.  Following Scotland, the organization will dedicate its tenth library in Europe and its 108th library in Prague, Czech Republic in November.

For more information, visit www.judithsreadingroom.org.

 

Outstanding Service Award — Barnes and Noble

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Outstanding Service Award — Award to Barnes & Noble

April 21, 2024

Ms. Erin Cornish
Manager, Barnes & Noble
2960 Center Valley Parkway, Ste. 742
Center Valley, PA  18034

Dear Erin, Amy and Kayla,

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Judith’s Reading Room please accept our appreciation for the effort you all put into finding, ordering and organizing 124 curated teenage Graphic Novels so that we could sweep into your store and prepare the books for shipping — all in a matter of an hour.  You may consider that this was your job.  I would agree but I would make sure you understood that your expertise in knowing where to look is phenomenal and greatly appreciated.  For this outstanding contribution to Judith’s Reading Room, we name the three of you recipients of our Outstanding Service Award.

We will ship the books to Heavy Sound in June so that they arrive near the time of our trip to Edinburgh so that we can enjoy the look on their faces when we open the boxes together.  Photos will tell the story!!

Make no mistake about it:  we appreciate you more than you will ever know and we consider ourselves so lucky to have your assistance.

Warmest regards,

Cathy L. Leiber, Co-Founder

 

Outstanding Service Award — Emmaus High School

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Outstanding Service Award — Emmaus High School

April 21, 2024

Emmaus High School, Attn:  Amy Kaunitz
500 Macungie Avenue
Emmaus, PA  18049

Dear Rebecca, Amanda, Elena, Giulia, Abby, Caroline and Amy,

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Judith’s Reading Room, a global literacy nonprofit based in Berks County, PA, I’m writing today to express our heartfelt gratitude for your spectacular effort during the recent Book Fair at Barnes & Noble Center Valley on behalf of Judith’s Reading Room.  Your sweet encouragement – persistence – saleswoman-ship! –  resulted in a whopping gift card for our organization in the amount of $1,148.52.

You will remember that Judith’s Reading Room encouraged you the day of the book fair to inform patrons that their generosity would result in the purchase of teenage graphic novels for Heavy Sound near Edinburgh, Scotland.  We had promised Heavy Sound that we would invest $2,000 in books to establish our 107th library in our 24th country.  So, you see, you helped us achieve more than 1/2 of that commitment.  That is HUGE.

You may visit our website at www.judithsreadingroom.org to learn more about our 106 libraries established so far, along with our annual Freedom Through Literacy Awards.

Warmest regards,

Cathy L. Leiber, Co-Founder

 

Judith’s Reading Room Announces 107th Library

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NEWS RELEASE

CONTACT: Cathy Leiber
www.JudithsReadingRoom.org

Judith’s Reading Room announces its 107th Library
Graphic Novels Will Enrich Lives of “Care-Experienced” Youth in Scotland

April 2, 2024 — Judith’s Reading Room announced today that it will dedicate its 107th library in its 24th country in collaboration with Heavy Sound, Cockenzie, East Lothian, in the eastern central Lowlands of Scotland on August 10, 2024.

Judith’s Reading Room, a 501 (c) 3 literacy organization founded in 2010 in the memory of Judith F. Krug, a distinguished librarian and cousin to the founders, reached out to The Scottish Book Trust, Edinburgh, Scotland, to help identify a school or organization that would benefit from a library.  It’s CEO, Marc Lambert, informed that “ If you are able to support Heavy Sound with books, you’ll be sure to be directing your charitable activities to those children who really need it most.”

Heavy Sound serves the most vulnerable, at risk and hardest to reach young people in Scotland, most of whom have poor/no literacy.  The nonprofit organization recognizes the barriers this causes throughout their lives, and therefore aims to inspire and support them to become readers and writers.  “We are absolutely thrilled that Judith’s Reading Room is supporting Heavy Sound by providing books that will enrich the lives of the people we support, said Linda Bendle, CEO Heavy Sound.

Working with The Scottish Book Trust and Heavy Sound, Judith’s Reading Room decided to focus on graphic novels — a genre shown in academic research* to be a positive literacy ‘stepping stone’ to help reluctant readers in their discovery of the joy of reading.  According to the American Library Association, to get teenage reluctant readers reading, ‘we need to find the elusive reading material that provides interest.’

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*”Teenage Reluctant Readers,” Young Adult Library Services, American Library Association, Summer 2005.  Courtesy Ana Luhrs, Librarian, Lafayette College, Easton, PA

A comprehensive list of graphic novels, provided by The Scottish Book Trust, will guide  Judith’s Reading Room in its purchases to create the graphic novel library at Heavy Sound, serving youth ages 12-15.

Judith’s Reading Room  

The mission of Judith’s Reading Room is to ‘enrich lives and societies by proactively encouraging freedom through literacy.’  It has fulfilled that mission by establishing 106 libraries (& counting!) in 23 countries with over 133,000 books donated worth $1.4 million.  Its signature event, ‘The Freedom Through Literacy Award,’ annually recognizes and honors champions of literacy from all disciplines — teachers, authors, educators, researchers, nonprofit literacy organizations — from around the world.  To date, over $58,000 has been awarded to 71 champions of literacy from 18 countries.

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Emmaus High School Bookfair

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NEWS RELEASE

CONTACT: Cathy Leiber
www.JudithsReadingRoom.org

Emmaus High School Bookfair 3/9/2024

Today, you will be doing an enormous service for teens 12-15 years of age in Edinburgh, Scotland.  These boys & girls are some of the most vulnerable in Scottish society who come from very tough backgrounds, often care backgrounds, and who have missed out on a lot of formal schooling.

Today’s Bookfair will benefit Judith’s Reading Room.

Judith’s Reading Room, a local Pennsylvania non profit literacy organization, established in 2010, has as its mission “to enrich lives and societies by proactively encouraging freedom through literacy.”  To date, the organization has dedicated 106 libraries in 23 countries with over 133,000 donated books.

Today, you will help us establish our 107th library in our 24th country dedicated to boys & girls ages 12-15 in collaboration with the non profit HeavySound.org in Edinburgh, Scotland.  This is a great organization — it is not a ‘formal’ school, but it does offer these kids an outstanding educational and activity-based program.

The BEST BOOKS for teens who read way below grade level, are GRAPHIC NOVELS!  Help us obtain GRAPHIC NOVELS!

Judith’s Reading Room will dedicate its 107th library with Heavy Sound in Edinburgh, Scotland the week of August 12, 2024.  Your hard work to encourage Barnes & Noble patrons to be generous will result in a spectacular library.

 

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