As CLiF develops longer-lasting and more in-depth initiatives such as our Year of the Book and Community Literacy programs, we are also helping towns and schools sustain their literacy efforts after their CLiF grant is over.

To that end, on May 1 we held our first annual CLiF Community Literacy Conference in St. Johnsbury, VT. Entitled “Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Literacy One Community at a Time,” the conference assisted principals, teachers, librarians, and reading specialists from 11 of our recipient towns to maintain momentum by sharing programming ideas, learning about other funding opportunities, and networking with colleagues.

Brigid Hubberman, executive director of the Family Reading Partnership in Ithaca, NY, was our special guest speaker. She has worked in community literacy for 16 years and she shared a wealth of programming ideas, thoughts on starting literacy projects in your town, and ways to collaborate with local businesses and community members.

Said one conference attendee, “Brigid was terrific – just a treasure-trove of information.” Commented another: “This was a great opportunity to share ideas, tips, and challenges and have members of other communities offer possible solutions. I now have so many ideas swirling around. I am so impressed with CLiF!”

We hope to make this an annual gathering of past and present Year of the Book and Community Literacy towns to continue sharing ideas, networking, and inspiring one another to create a culture of literacy within our own communities.

Thanks to all who attended and participated in our successful first annual CLiF Community Literacy Conference!

If any of our readers have ideas to share on community-wide literacy projects or initiatives, feel free to leave them in the comments section. We love hearing your stories and ideas!