Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Support Sandy Hook Elementary students with books



1) SCBWI's Executive Director, Lin Oliver, has learned through the Newtown Fire Department, that there’s a desperate need for picture books for the kids who will be returning to school after the new year. The Sandy Hook Elementary School community will be setting up a temporary elementary school location at the middle school, and since they are not moving the library, they’re in need of picture books to stock their temporary library. SCBWI's main office plans to donate books, and invites individual regions to join in. We can help by gathering new, appropriate, high-quality picture books over the next couple of weeks, which we’ll send to Newtown after the first of the year.

If you’re attending the Great Critique on January 7th, please try to bring a book to donate. While it's not mandatory, we’d love to see a high level of participation. If you’re not attending the Great Critique but would like to donate, please contact me at mail@kerrikokias.com to make arrangements. The easiest thing would be to deliver, or ship, books to my home address in West Seattle. If that doesn't work I may be able to put you in touch with someone in your area who can get the books to me. 

2) Many of you know regional SCBWI member Richard Lorig and his wife Steffanie. Steffanie is the Executive Director of Art with Heart, a nonprofit whose mission is to empower youth in crisis through therapeutic books and programs that foster self-expression. Art with Heart is currently soliciting donations to reprint their grief book, with the goal of providing a copy for each of the 555 students of Sandy Hook Elementary school. I can vouch for the high quality of Art with Heart’s publications, and the work they do. To learn more about Art with Heart and make a donation, please visit www.artwithheart.org.


––posted by Kerri Kokias

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