Posts Tagged ‘young authors’

As the Director for the Young Authors League (YAL) and the President of the CIPA Education and Literacy Foundation (ELF), a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering and inspiring school-age children to read and write, I’ve very excited to share our lastest project!

This past year, YAL organized a Student Short Story Writing Competition titled, “Making the World a Better Place,” in which fourth and fifth grade students of the Cherry Creek School District in the Denver area were invited to submit a short story or artwork expressing this inspiring theme.

It is with great pleasure that I announce the publication of the Young Authors League book, Making the World a Better Place: Student Stories about Making a Difference!

From Fearless Foam-Fighters to an argument between a fork and a spoon, and from the Get Things Done Girls to the power of a smile, this is a delightful collection of inspiring short stories and artwork by the students themselves. Experience the insights, as well as the talents, of these amazing students, and find out for yourself how to make the world a better place…you may be inspired to do the same!

Purchase your copy now for $14.00.  All proceeds from the sale of this book benefit the CIPA Education and Literacy Foundation to continue developing and implementing literacy programs for students which bring out their potential and build their excitement for reading and writing.

For a list of winners, participating schools, comments, and information on upcoming YAL events, please visit http://debragano.com/young-authors-league1/.

Join us on EARTH DAY, APRIL 22, from 4-8 pm as we launch Making the World a Better Place at Barnes & Noble in Southlands Mall, Aurora, Colorado! Click HERE for more information!

As the Young Authors League Director for the CIPA Education and Literacy Foundation, I organized a short-story writing contest this past spring for 4^th & 5^th grade students of the Cherry Creek School District in Denver.  Always looking to bring out the inspirational side of kids, I selected the theme, “Making the World a Better Place,” thinking the stories would be based on human, heart-warming aspects, such as kindness, helping others, etc., (you know, Heartlight Girl themes). While we did receive some fabulous stories like this, I was truly surprised that the majority of stories were about about litter, recycling, and pollution. I am all about cleaning up our Earth (I’m a big recycler!), but have to admit, a slight groan would escape me when I saw I had to read yet another story on this topic…that is, until a powerful experience on the beach this past August changed my perspective… Read the rest of this entry »