Fuel Reading Passion in Jamaican Kids

Hi, my name is Natalie Bennett.

I am raising funds to support Granville Reading & Art Programme, a literacy project that uses art education to get young people in Jamaica excited about reading! GRAP offers Summer Arts Workshop, a summer program that is free of cost to participants, and is located in Granville, St. James in western Jamaica, a small district just outside of the city of Montego Bay.

I have been involved with this project since 2011.

GRAP's Summer Arts Workshop remains important to me for several reasons. I want all children in Jamaica to know how to read, and to have unlimited access to books that present doors and windows through which they can see themselves and experience the world. Too many children in Jamaica still struggle to read, and do not have steady access to high-quality books outside of school, especially those who live in difficult social and economic circumstances. I want to be part of a small and growing number of Jamaicans who are dedicated to addressing this problem.

It is also important to me that all children, regardless of where they live, have access to the arts to express themselves, to tell their own stories, and to be able to imagine new ways of living and being. Whether it's visual art, music, or performance, creative ways of expressing points of view also offer young people an entry point to reading, writing and critical thinking. I want to foster this connection between art and literacy, and the summer program is an ideal opportunity to do so.

Funds raised will be used to pay for operating costs for the summer program: fees for program space; stipends for teaching staff; transportation (field trips, shipment of supplies); and snacks for participants.