From: Dee Jones <dee.jones>
Date: Mon, 02 Dec 2002 12:54:44 -0600

I am posting the following message for the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. Please direct any questions to the Foundation. Please excuse cross-postings.

Dee Jones

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Tel: (718) 252 at 47 (For more information) Website: www.ezra-jack-keats.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 12/1/02 CALL FOR GRANT PROPOSALS EZRA JACK KEATS FOUNDATION CELEBRATES FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PUBLICATION OF THE SNOWY DAY BY OFFERING FORTY THOUSAND DOLLARS IN MINIGRANTS FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND PUBLIC SCHOOL LIBRARIES.

The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation has just announced that, in celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the publication of The Snowy Day, $40,000 will be awarded in the Fifteenth Annual Minigrants in December 2003 for innovative and imaginative programs in public libraries and public school libraries designed to combat illiteracy. Minigrants of $350 are available for such programs. The deadline for submissions is September 15, 2003.

"This is a momentous celebration," said Deborah Pope, Executive Director of the Foundation. "The Snowy Day, when it was published forty years ago, broke the color barrier in mainstream children's literature. It depicted African-American Peter enjoying the snow, as does every child. There now exist several generations of readers ready and able to enjoy literature by and about people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds due in large part to early exposure to The Snowy Day and the host of books following in its path."

Minigrant applicants must be from the United States, and proposed projects must be exclusively sponsored by the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. Programs that will be considered include storytelling, innovative or noteworthy workshops, and festivals. Workshops targeted at parents and librarians are also considered worthy. Programs featuring the works of Ezra Jack Keats will be given special attention.

"Since we began the minigrant program we have awarded almost four hundred thousand dollars to libraries and schools in every state of the union, as well as territories," said Dr. Pope. "Programs have been diverse and outstanding, ranging from writing books to making patchwork quilts. Some children have developed friendships with pen pals in different schools and different ethnic backgrounds. The librarians who initiate these outstanding programs make a significant contribution in advancing the fight against illiteracy. We are proud to have provided the grants making their work possible."

Applications for proposals may be downloaded from the Keats website: www.ezra-jack-keats.org, which also provides information of value to the librarian and the teacher.


******************************************************************** Dee Jones, Curator Phone: 601&6C49 de Grummond Collection Fax: 601&6b69 Box 5148 www.lib.usm.edu/~degrum

University of Southern Mississippi e-mail: dee.jones at usm.edu Hattiesburg, MS 39406Q48
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Received on Mon 02 Dec 2002 12:54:44 PM CST