The Official Blog of Debra Gano: CEO of BYOU, Author of Heartlight Girls Book Series & Self-Esteem Expert » young authors http://debragano.com Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:46:56 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 Making the World a Better Place Premieres! http://debragano.com/making-the-world-a-better-place-2/ http://debragano.com/making-the-world-a-better-place-2/#comments Sat, 03 Apr 2010 20:03:02 +0000 debra http://debragano.com/?p=581 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!

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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.

yal-bookcover-lg1It 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!

]]> http://debragano.com/making-the-world-a-better-place-2/feed/ 2 Making the World a Better Place http://debragano.com/making-the-world-a-better-place/ http://debragano.com/making-the-world-a-better-place/#comments Sun, 13 Sep 2009 20:45:49 +0000 debra http://debragano.com/?p=373 As the Young Authors League Director for the CIPA Education and Literacy Foundation, I organized a short-story writing contest this past spring for 4th & 5th 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…

You may not know this, but I write my books on the beach. Yup, that’s where my creativity goes wild because of the beauty (did you notice all the beach scenes in Beauty’s Secret?) Now, living in a land-locked state like Colorado makes this a bit challenging, but I travel to both Michigan in the summer (where I grew up) and Florida in the winter and have my favorite (secret) spots I write. Last month I was at one of my favorite writing spots on Lake Michigan putting the finishing touches on Star’s Attraction (more on that next month!), purposely tucked far down the beach so as to not be bothered, when I was distracted by a family of four right in front of me. A momentary annoyance immediately turned into a powerful curiosity as to what they were doing. Clad in swimsuits, the mom had on purple rubber gloves, the dad carrying a funky contraption with a claw-type thing on it, and the two preteen girls were carrying oversized trash bags….they were picking up the trash on the beach!
I cannot tell you the impact it had on me. First of all, because, in spite of traveling the world as a model, I still think Lake Michigan beaches are some of the most beautiful anywhere, and was disturbed to see its beauty tainted by trash strewn here and there. Secondly, to see a family doing this together, and the lesson it was teaching the girls was very powerful. I realized that to “make the world a better place,” including having people treat each other well, requires us to honor and respect our environment. For scientific reasons too detailed to get into here, it raises the vibration of our energy, creating positive vibes that put people in a place to respect not only our planet, but other humans as well. I realized how very important all those precious stories on pollution/litter/recycling from the students are, and wish to thank not only the writing students, but my dear new friends Jessica, Marlee, Miah (and dad!) for the important insight you brought to me that beautiful sunny day on the beach. Keep up the good work, our world needs you!
By the way, for more information on the Young Authors League Writing Contest, including updates and a list of finalists, please visit my Young Authors League Page and the CIPA website.
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