Hello friends!

I am raising funds to support the 14th staging of Summer Arts Workshop, a grassroots literacy and art education program that takes place in Granville, St. James in Jamaica. Granville is a small district located in the hills on the outskirts of Montego Bay.

The program is free to all families. Reading, math and art activities are offered by trained teachers who are invested in the idea that communities have an important role to play in supporting the educational development of children. Roughly 25 children from ages 6 to 17 years old participate each year. They practice reading skills, are read to by volunteers, create art, and learn new skills for expressing their ideas about themselves and their communities.

SAW is a special space that has been created in a community that has its fair share of struggles. For two weeks, the participants have unlimited access to books and art. Graduates of the program have come back to work as interns and staff; interns and volunteers have been inspired to become educators themselves. SAW continues because the program fills an important need for the families who take advantage of it. But it is also a testimony to the power of doing small things consistently, and refusing to give up regardless of the obstacles.

I hope that you will find it in your heart to support SAW 2025 and to tell your friends and networks about this program.