Apply now for Día Turns 20 Mini-grant from ALSC
For Immediate Release
Tue, 02/02/2016
Contact:
Angela Hubbard
Program Officer, Projects & Partnerships
Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)
(312) 280-1398
CHICAGO — The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is accepting proposals for the 2016 Día Turns 20 mini-grants. ALSC will award up to twenty (20) public libraries $2,000 each to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of connecting children with diverse books through Día. This mini-grant is made possible by a generous donation from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. For more information and to apply for the mini-grant, please visit dia.ala.org.
The Día Turns 20 mini-grant is part of the Children’s Day/Book Day or El día de los niños/El día de los libros initiative. This nationally recognized initiative emphasizes the importance of literacy for all children from all backgrounds, and 2016 marks the 20th year of its observance. Día is a daily commitment to linking children and their families to diverse books, languages and cultures. This is the second of two funding opportunities that ALSC has offered this year to help libraries celebrate Día all year. ALSC also manages the National Día Program Registry to help libraries and community partners share information about their Día programs throughout the year.
The common goals of all Día programming are to: celebrate children and connect them to the world of learning through books, stories and libraries; recognize and respect culture, heritage and language as powerful tools for strengthening families and communities; nurture cognitive and literacy development in ways that honor and embrace a child’s home language and culture; and to introduce families to community resources that provide opportunities for learning through multiple literacies.
The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is the national home for Día. In 1996, Pat Mora, nationally acclaimed author of books for children and adults, proposed linking the celebration of childhood and children with literacy under the name El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day). Her proposal was later endorsed by Día Founding Partner REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking.
About ALSC
The Association for Library Service to Children is the world's largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. ALSC's network includes more than 4,000 children's and youth librarians, children's literature experts, publishers, education and library school faculty members, and other adults dedicated to creating a better future for children through libraries.
About REFORMA
Established in 1971 as an affiliate of the American Library Association (ALA), REFORMA, has actively sought to promote the development of library collections to include Spanish-language and Latino oriented materials; the recruitment of more bilingual and bicultural library professionals and support staff; the development of library services and programs that meet the needs of the Latino community; the establishment of a national information and support network among individuals who share their goals; the education of the U.S. Latino population in regards to availability and types of library services; and lobbying efforts to preserve existing library resource centers serving the interests of Latinos.
About Dollar General Corporation
Dollar General Corporation has been delivering value to shoppers for over 75 years. Dollar General helps shoppers Save time. Save money. Every day!® by offering products that are frequently used and replenished, such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, house wares and seasonal items at low everyday prices in convenient neighborhood locations. Dollar General operates 12,198 stores in 43 states as of July 31, 2015. In addition to high quality private brands, Dollar General sells products from America’s most-trusted manufacturers such as Clorox, Energizer, Procter & Gamble, Hanes, Coca-Cola, Mars, Unilever, Nestle, Kimberly-Clark, Kellogg’s, General Mills, and PepsiCo. For more information on Dollar General, please visit www.dollargeneral.com.