November 13, 2007

THE FOUNDATION AT MONROE COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND ITS COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO RECEIVE A BIG READ GRANT FOR 2008

Monroe County to read and celebrate To Kill a Mockingbird
during Big Read program

November 13, 2007 - MONROE, MI.  The Foundation at Monroe County Community College has received a $16,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to participate in The Big Read 2008. In addition to the grant, over $26,000 of in-kind resources and donations have been secured to help The Foundation and its community partners implement the second Big Read in Monroe County beginning with a performance of To Kill a Mockingbird by The Monroe Community Players on March 14-16, 2008 in the Meyer Theater, La-Z-Boy Center at Monroe County Community College.

In addition to the Monroe Community Players, other partner organizations include The Monroe County Library System, Monroe Public Schools, Monroe County Intermediate School District, Arthur Lesow Center, Monroe County Community College, The Book Nook, the Community Foundation of Monroe County, the Monroe Evening News, Meadow Montessori School, Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Monroe Public Access Cable Television, the City of Monroe, DTE Energy Foundation, Holcim, Monroe Bank and Trust, and the La-Z-Boy Foundation.

Preliminary programming includes but is not limited to book club discussions, a film festival, contests, writing workshops, a genealogy workshop, southern cooking demonstration, and a panel discussion.  In addition to the special events and activities being planned, the committee will distribute approximately 1,000 copies of the book and supplementary materials to schools, senior and youth centers, and other community organizations throughout Monroe County in addition to supplementing the circulation of To Kill a Mockingbird by the Monroe County Library System.

The Foundation at Monroe County Community College and its partners are one of 127 libraries, municipalities, and arts, culture, higher education, and science organizations to receive a grant to host a Big Read celebration of one of 16 classic novels from January-June 2008.  The NEA launched the Big Read nationally in 2007 in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest.

The latest Big Read grantees represent 38 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The NEA inaugurated The Big Read as a pilot project with ten communities in 2006. By 2009, approximately 400 communities in the U.S. will have hosted a Big Read since the program’s launch.

“The true mission of The Big Read is to restore reading to the American heart,” said Suzanne Wetzel, executive director of The Foundation at MCCC. “This initiative in our community affords us the opportunity to collectively read and reflect on great literature – opening lines of communication and fostering great civic discussion.”

“In just two years, the Big Read has grown from ten communities to include nearly 200 towns and cities nationwide. Although each of these communities celebrates its Big Read program in its own way, one theme we consistently hear back is that the Big Read is not just bringing citizens back to the joy of reading, but also reinvigorating the very idea of community,” said NEA Chairman Dana Gioia. “I am delighted to announce the newest round of Big Read communities in this program, which is about so much more than reading.”

"The Big Read is reaching across state and international borders," said Dr. Anne-Imelda Radice, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the NEA's lead federal partner for The Big Read. "As director of the IMLS, the federal agency that funds libraries and museums, I am pleased to support this initiative that is creating a new generation of readers. The sky is truly the limit with this partnership."
The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.

For more information about The Big Read Monroe 2008 contact Suzanne Wetzel at (734) 384-4206 or Beth Kohler at (734) 384-4111.

The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts—both new and established—bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the nation’s largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. For more information, please visit www.arts.gov.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute’s mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. For more information, please visit www.imls.gov.

Arts Midwest connects people throughout the Midwest and the world to meaningful arts opportunities, sharing creativity, knowledge, and understanding across boundaries. Arts Midwest connects the arts to audiences throughout the nine-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. One of six non-profit regional arts organizations in the United States, Arts Midwest’s history spans more than 25 years. For more information, please visit www.artsmidwest.org.