I can’t believe it’s November and nearly time to select another winner of the ALSC/Candlewick Press “Light the Way: Outreach to the Underserved” Grant. Yes, applications are due December 1, 2014, and the Library Services to Special Population Children and Their Caregivers will meet during Midwinter 2015 to select a winner.
For inspiration, I share with you excerpts from the final report of the 2013 grant winner, Burke County Public Library in North Carolina. BCPL used the $3,000 grant to fund a programs serving children in the deaf and hard of hearing community.
“Our outreach program started by providing weekly Summer Reading Program activities for children participating in the North Carolina School for the Deaf’s summer camp. We collaborated with the school to provide storytimes that were appropriately translated through an interpreter on a weekly basis as well as provided one training opportunity for parents with the main topic being the importance of literacy in the deaf community. We have continued this effort through out the year by providing weekly storytimes at both the Morganton Public Library and the Valdese Public Library for groups from the North Carolina School for the Deaf.”
In addition to programming, library staff organized a theatrical performance at the North Carolina School for the Deaf that was interpreted for students; hearing students from area schools were invited as guests. Grant funds were also used to build Burke County Library’s collection of materials featuring “biographies of famous deaf people and fiction material with the main character being deaf or hearing impaired.”
Can you use $3,000 to enhance programs and services for your local community of children with special needs and their caregivers?
We look forward to learning about your ideas for outreach and services to special population children and their caregivers. The application is available online.
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Africa S. Hands is chair of the Library Services to Special Population Children and Their Caregivers committee. If you have questions about the grant application, you can reach her at asheri@rocketmail.com or @africahands on Twitter.