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JCC, Jackson Literacy Coalition receives grant for Big Read program to celebrate ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’

Jackson Community College is pleased to announce that Jackson was recently selected to receive a $20,000 grant funded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support a Big Read community reading program. JCC, along with several community partners in the Jackson Literacy Coalition, have planned a series of activities for March 2007 centered around the classic work by Harper Lee, “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

Jackson is one of 72 communities nationwide to receive grants to support the Big Read, a new national program by the NEA, in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and Arts Midwest, that encourages literary reading by asking communities to come together to read and discuss one book. The $20,000 grant will be matched with $20,000 locally, raised by coalition members.

Marcia Cole, an Americorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) worker who joined JCC this year to work on literacy, wrote the grant proposal and has been working actively with the Jackson Literacy Coalition on the project. “I was ecstatic for the City of Jackson to be picked as one of the cities nationwide for the program. This is a big honor,” Cole said. “I believe this speaks to our community’s commitment to literacy and the fact that we have so many partners interested in bringing this about.”

Activities are planned for March since it is National Reading Month, and tentative plans include:

• Kickoff southern style breakfast with Mary Badham, the actress who played “Scout” in the film version of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” at the Ella Sharp Museum.
• Film showing at Michigan Theatre with Mary Badham signing DVDs afterward, hosted by Human Relations Commission.
• A minimum of 20 small groups will read the book in various settings – at local libraries, in homes, bookstores and campuses.
• Community book discussions and forums.
• Jackson District Court Judge Joseph Filip and Libby Brown, Jackson Public Schools government teacher, are planning a mock trial in his courtroom, with high school students participating.
• Community theatre group Center Stage Jackson performance the second and third weekends of March.
• Florence Crittenton residents will participate as a group in the book read and discussion.
• Westwinds Community Church will host “read-ins” and discuss hard-hitting issues of the book.
• An art competition and exhibition to be held in March 2007, entitled “Courageous Diversity” is being presented by Art 634, and Studio Z, both local art guilds.
• Elementary, middle and high school students from several Jackson County schools will study the book and its themes.
• Several JCC classes will study the book and its themes.
• Baker College and Spring Arbor University have expressed interest in participating in the events.
• Many more.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” was selected because its themes, important when it was written in the 1960s, are still very important today, Cole said. It is also a project that is designed to promote reading, and can benefit Jackson’s literacy rates, as 17 percent in the county and 24 percent in the city read at a third-grade level or lower.

In addition to direct grants, the NEA also will provide participating communities with a library of free materials, including reader’s and teacher’s guides for each of the Big Read novels, an audio guide featuring distinguished actors and writers, an online organizer’s guide for hosting a Big Read program, a customized television public service announcement, Big Read display materials, and a comprehensive web site.

For a complete calendar of events and more information on how to get involved, visit the Jackson Big Read web site or contact Marcia Cole at 517.795.0000 or colemarciak@jccmi.edu.

For a complete list of communities participating in the Big Read or for more information on the program, please visit neabigread.org. Information will also be posted on the JCC web site, www.jccmi.edu/bigread.