SCBWI is Participating in GivingTuesday in Order to Benefit Creators With Disabilities

For the first time ever, SCBWI is participating in GivingTuesday in order to benefit creators with disabilities. GivingTuesday was created in 2012 with a simple idea in mind–to encourage people to do good–and has since grown into a global movement inspiring hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.

This December 1, we ask that any donations you give to the SCBWI be tagged with #GivingTuesday (in the PayPal or check memo) if you’d like them dedicated to scholarships, grants, and accessibility resources for people with disabilities. While we gratefully accept donations any time of year, we know that 2020 has been particularly challenging for many of us. If giving financially isn’t feasible for you right now, we hope that you will consider giving your voice, time, talent, extra belongings, teamwork, and kindness. Click here for more ways to get involved this GivingTuesday.

We hope you’ll join us in celebrating generosity and consider making a donation to the SCBWI in support of our members with disabilities. For more ways to support our members, we invite you to peruse and suggest additions to our disability resources page. (Please send suggestions to Kiana Martin at kianamartin@scbwi.org–thank you!)

And, as a great reference, SCBWI’s Statement of Disability (borrowed from We Need Diverse Books) is:

“We subscribe to a broad definition of disability, which includes but is not limited to physical, sensory, cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, chronic conditions, and mental illnesses (this may also include addiction). Furthermore, we subscribe to a social model of disability, which presents disability as created by barriers in the social environment due to lack of equal access, stereotyping, and other forms of marginalization.”

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

One Way SCBWI Members Give Back (And Next Year, You Can, Too!): SCBWI’s 2nd Annual Books For Readers Literacy Initiative

Members of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators joined forces again as part of our 2nd Annual SCBWI Books For Readers book drive to collect, curate, and donate new books created by our members to two 2018 recipients: the Indian Education Program of the Fargo and West Fargo Public Schools in North Dakota, and the Literacy Alliance in Oviedo, Florida.

“We are thrilled to receive this generous donation of books. Many of our families do not have the luxury of having books in their homes,” said Melody Staebner, the Fargo and West Fargo Public Schools’ Indian Education Coordinator and an enrolled member in the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. “With this donation during our Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we can reinforce the importance of reading at school and at home! We know that if kids are excited about reading, and are competent readers by the third grade, they will have a better chance of graduating high school—one of our program’s goals, as well as following their dreams!"

SCBWI's Lin Oliver added, “Getting books into children’s hands is why we create books—to help build dreams. And, getting our books into hands of readers in need... is a dream come true!”

Photos from the Indigenous People's Day celebration in North Dakota:

And more from the Literacy Alliance celebration in Florida:

You can learn more about the SCBWI Books for Readers program here.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee