The Great Stories Club: Reading and Discussion for At-Risk Youth

FAIN: GI-228350-15

ALA (Chicago, IL 60611-2729)
Lainie Castle (Project Director: August 2014 to June 2018)

Funding details:
Original grant (2015) $349,975.00
Supplement (2016) $10,000.00
Supplement (2017) $75,004.00

Implementation of a series of three-part thematic reading and discussion programs for at-risk and underserved teens.

"The Great Stories Club" is a thematic reading and discussion program developed to reach at-risk youth through literature-based library outreach programs. The GSC will introduce teens and others facing difficult circumstances to accessible and appealing books selected by scholars with a special interest in reaching the underserved; facilitate in-depth exploration of humanities themes that will resonate with reluctant readers also struggling with complex issues like incarceration, violence, poverty, and addiction; and connect participants to a proven, highly successful national program model first launched by ALA in 2006. Participants will explore themes of civic engagement in an age of mass media, the role of creative arts in dealing with change and transformation, and the origins of teenage violence and suicide through novels, memoirs, and non-fiction books as well as training opportunities developed by humanities scholars and programming librarians.