Special Projects – Literacy Legacy Fund

2020 Special Project Recipient

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a program that mails out children a free book each month from birth up until 5 years old. These are high-quality books that are chosen by experts in the education and writing field and are based on the child’s age. Pictured below are Bryan Tyner, District Administrator, Nancy Seminoff, LLF Michigan President, Phyllis Aurich, Secretary and local children at the February kickoff at AuTrain-Onota Public Schools.

Read to Your Shelter Pet & Ice Cream Social

Thank you all attendees, volunteers and sponsors Econo Foods and Globe Printing. READ TO YOUR SHELTER PET – In addition to receiving ice cream, participants viewed a movie, colored items at Maddie’s Tail Wag activity station, and received Read to Your Shelter Pet program information. Each child took home a free book and learned about the UPAWS Little Free Library.

UPAWS first grant funding, to implement a pilot program in early 2019, assisted with kick starting their Read to Your Shelter Pet Program (see below for more information). LLF Michigan presented additional funding at the August 29^th Ice Cream Social & Community Event which will assist with the program in 2019 and 2020. Shown below are the books to be gifted to each child that attended the Ice Cream Social and the presentation of grant check.

LLF Michigan has contributed to UPAWS to assist with the set up of their “Read to Your Shelter Pet Program” as part of their developing “Kids Clubs” . This program pairs children with pets and books. Reading to the pets fosters socialization for the pet while increasing the child’s reading skills.

UPAWS Kids Club will focus on unique and age-specific programs for participation by Marquette County youth. This will include seasonal ‘camps’ that consist of shelter tours, humane education, animal empathy, and age-appropriate activities. UPAWS believes that humane education can play a part in breaking the cycle of cruelty to animals (and subsequent cruelty to people) by focusing on compassion, empathy, and personal responsibility. Since this program was unable to be launched in their old facility due to space and safety constraints, this grant included funding of equipment and materials needed to launch the UPAWS Kids Clubs, and toward the construction of the new building (which includes a community education room.)

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore hosts a Storybook Hike program

LLF Michigan is teaming up with Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore to host a Storybook Hike program with children’s author Lori Taylor at Munising Falls on July 26, 2018 at 2 pm. The park’s Education Specialist, Melissa O’Donnell, coordinated the visit that was attended by the Munising day camp participants and visitors to the falls.

Join in the fun for a Story Hike Adventure!

Bookmarks and coloring page by Lori Taylor

You may download and copy these free resources. To see more of Lori Taylor’s work, books and learn more about Lori please visit her website.

Bookmarks

Coloring Page

LLF Michigan announces their first Legacy Grant

After grant funding U. P. Children’s Museum for two years of successful Third Thursday Literacy Nights LLF Michigan awarded its first Legacy Grant to the U.P. Children’s Museum through 2018.

IN HONOR OF DR. JACQUELINE TILLES

$2,500 annually in 2016, 2017 and 2018 to assist an undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in a teacher education program at Wayne State University. In 2019, we continued to fund this scholarship through a combination of donor contributions and LLF Michigan funds.
Part-time or full time student receives assistance with tuition and other educational expenses
Tilles retired in 2015 as an Associate Professor at Wayne State University
- Served 45 years at WSU in the Teacher Education Division (TED)
- Taught in the Detroit Public Schools and at Hunter College, NYC
- Received the MRA Reading Educator of the Year Award
- Received the WSU Excellence in Teaching Award-College of Education
- Well-known and respected as a teacher, mentor, and advisor to hundreds of students

Spotlight Award – June 2019 Wayne State University College of Education Scholarship Reception. LLF Michigan has given a scholarship to WSU, titled The Literacy Legacy Fund of Michigan Scholarship in Honor of Dr. Jacqueline Tilles. The scholarship fund was initiated in 2016.

Pictured below, from left to right: Dr. Jacqueline Tilles, Andrew Pearce, Leticia Kelly, Dean Whitman, College of Education.

________________________________

First WSU scholarship recipient from LLF Michigan in 2016

Contributions to LLF Michigan accepted throughout the year to a temporarily restricted fund and transferred annually on March 1 to the WSU Foundation-College of Education.

Lori Taylor Artist-in-residence Program

Artist-in-residence programs exist to invite artists and all manner of creative people for a time and space away from their usual environment and obligations. In 2015 LLF Michigan entered into an Artist-in-residence program with Lori Taylor. Lori is a “pond stomping, trail stumbling artist, author, and illustrator in hiking boots. I rehabilitate kids and release them into the wild outdoors by encouraging them to read, write, and draw in nature to find their story. (direct quote from Lori’s website)” While “in-residence” Lori created a wonderful, artist pop-up book for LLF Michigan, which was inspired by her Artist-in-Residence rustic surroundings, then later displayed and sold at the Michigan Reading Annual Conference in 2016. During the residency program Lori Taylor shared her experience with the public through demonstrations or talks. Pictured below are Lori with her book presenting at NMU and the book she created for us.