A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Elsa Sule Foundation helps sponsor KBF’s Schools Days, distributing books to elementary schools


The reading public are not the only beneficiaries of the expanded Kentucky Book Festival; now, more than 1,500 students will participate in KBF School Days and the KBF Master Class from November 12 through 16. Through generous funding from the Elsa Heisel Sule Foundation and the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, more than 2,200 books will be distributed to 36 elementary, middle, and high schools.
 
KBF Kids Day began in 2011 as an opportunity for hundreds of students to participate in the Kentucky Book Fair. For 2018, Kids Day has been expanded into KBF School Days, a week in which six authors will visit eleven schools in geographically diverse parts of Kentucky, reaching more than 1,250 students.

Thanks to the continued support from the Elsa Heisel Sule Foundation, each student participating in the author visits will receive a book, and participating schools will receive five copies of the visiting author’s book.

Schools that applied for an author visit that were not selected will receive a classroom set of books.

Overall, Kentucky Humanities purchased 1,949 books for distribution to 29 schools.
 
“The Elsa Sule Foundation is thrilled to be funding the Kentucky Book Fair’s School Days and make these first-hand encounters with authors possible,” says Ruth Klette, Trustee and CEO of the foundation. “By bringing the authors directly to the schools, it ensures that as many children as possible will be able to interact with the author and at the end of the talk be able to take home one of the author’s books. The Elsa Sule Foundation has supported Kentucky Humanities in the past with Kentucky Chautauqua and is excited to partner in this new venture.”
 
“In many rural areas, there isn’t easy access to books for students,” says Bill Goodman, Kentucky Humanities executive director. “Changing the format of our student programming allows us to reach more students and facilitate a unique reading experience, and more importantly, it enables us to do a small part in encouraging students to read outside of school.”
 
The 2018 KBF Master Class features Dr. Jonathan Cullick, professor of English at Northern Kentucky University.

His class, entitled, “Being Persuaded and Being Persuasive: How to Use Language Effectively and Ethically,” will help teach students how to analyze persuasive language and be better writers of persuasion.

Following lunch, Dr. Keen Babbage and UK Student Ambassador Juwan Page will give a presentation on important questions high schoolers should answer when considering higher education. More than 300 high school students from seven schools have registered for the KBF Master Class.

Through a generous grant from the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, teachers for each attending school will receive a classroom set of Dr. Cullick’s book, Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men: A Reader’s Companion.
 
KBF School Days and the KBF Master Class are student outreach events of the Kentucky Book Festival, taking place November 12-17.

More information on the Festival, including a full list of sponsors, events, and authors can be found at
the website or by calling (859) 257-5932.


Related Posts

Leave a Comment