Kickstarter

What we want to do:
We need $6,000 by July 31, 2010 to help get our pilot program, “Readin’, Writin’ ‘n’ Rappin’” off the ground. Two 8-week programs will be the catalyst for a new agency, The Mary McCoy Writing Academy, that will provide reading, writing and the arts in after-school and summer programs for under-served neighborhoods in Omaha, Nebraska.

Our mission is to identify, celebrate and enhance the creativity that lies within the youth in our community by offering a high-quality educational experience in the areas of reading and writing using a variety of artistic approaches.

How we plan to do it:
“Readin’, Writin’ ‘n’ Rappin’” promotes reading as inspiration and writing as a creative endeavor. Two-hour workshop sessions are facilitated on an eight-week rotating basis. Each week middle-school participants (grades six – eight) will engage in activities centered on pre-selected literature (i.e. The Hundred Penny Box or Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush). Selected books will help participants explore their own cultural history, their genealogy and how their own personal histories impact their family, friends, community and the world. The Readin’, Writin’ ‘n’ Rappin’ workshops are not gender or race-specific and we encourage girls and boys of all races and nationalities to participate.

By the end of their eight-week session, participants will have engaged in group readings of published works, critical analysis of those works, creative writing and sharing of their own writing. In addition they will have the opportunity to interact with local poets and seasoned local writers as well as artists of various art forms that have the potential to inspire writing. The pilot group will also have an opportunity to select pieces that they have written to be published in an anthology.

What the money is for:
marketing to recruit participation
books for each participant
journals and pens for each participant
materials for writing activities
artist stipends
production and duplication of a video tape of an Open Mic Session
production and duplication of the Readin', Writin' 'n' Rappin' participant anthology

The Mary McCoy Writing Academy would appreciate the opportunity to bring “Readin’, Writin’ ‘n’ Rappin’ to Omaha, Nebraska.