How Books Inspire Action: The Citizen Power Project
Our guest author today is Marissa Wasseluk, Digital Communication Manager for non-profit FirstBook.
All too often, young people feel they don’t have the power to fix problems in their communities How can books inspire students to take action and become engaged citizens?
Earlier this year, First Book, along with our partners the American Federation of Teachers and the Albert Shanker Institute, presented educators nationwide with a challenge: identify an issue and a civic engagement project important to their students, school or community. We then asked for proposals on how, with the support of books and resources from First Book, their students could take action to address that issue and show their students that they have a voice and the ability to make positive changes happen.
We called this challenge The Citizen Power Activation Project. Funded by the Aspen Institute’s Pluribus Project, 15 proposals - five each from elementary, middle and high schools - would be chosen to receive a collection of special resources to help them implement their projects and a $500 grant for use on the First Book Marketplace.
More than 920 proposals were received.