Dear Friends,
Thank you so much to everyone who participated in our landmark 50th anniversary year!
With hundreds of our own events and those of our community partners, it was exciting to engage new audiences with so many celebratory gatherings.
We welcomed you to a conversation between National Endowment for the Humanities Chair Shelly C. Lowe (Navajo) and Vermont author Kekla Magoon at the State House, to the Smithsonian’s traveling exhibition at the St. Albans Museum, and for the collaborative 50 Forward Festival with Catamount Arts in St. Johnsbury.
With your help, the synergy we have created together in 2024 will carry us forward into the next fifty years. As a Humanities Camper commented on her communal cooking experience this summer: “It’s really cool that each person here made something that is on my plate.”
This is how we feel about our work all over Vermont – collaborative effort inspires, sustains, and uplifts our communities. Can we count on you to add some spice to our recipe?
Vermont Humanities creates engaging experiences and learning opportunities that connect people across the state through Vermont Reads and the Snapshot lecture series. We facilitate interactions between writers and middle and high school students through our Young Adult Author Residencies, and we support public librarians and young readers through the Vermont Early Literacy Initiative (VELI).
Our author residencies bring National Book Award nominated authors like Ken Cadow and Amber McBride into local schools to meet with students each year. Ken’s book, Gather, is this year’s Vermont Reads choice and is already sparking conversations on supporting rural youth affected by the opioid epidemic in over 80 communities.
“Amber is an extraordinarily talented author… her books for young adults center the struggles and challenges of growing up in today’s world,” shared a teacher-librarian who praised McBride’s residency.
“She’s a courageous writer, exploring themes such as race and racism or mental health and generational trauma,” they continued. “She is deeply attuned with what young people need to know and hear: that they are not alone in their struggles, that they belong, and that there is hope.”
Support for public libraries through our VELI work provides both financial resources to under-funded communities and a professional network through which librarians can brainstorm and collaborate. “VELI has given kids opportunities that they would not otherwise have had in our small, rural community,” commented one librarian.
Another said, “I’ve used everything I’ve learned from VELI in my storytimes at the library as well as the many classrooms I visit for outreach. The number of children, families, and caregivers Vermont Humanities has enriched – wow!”
And a final note, this summer, a Humanities Camp host observed that students worked together and helped each other out, “the kind community that was built will not soon be forgotten by any of us.”
This teacher was reminded of the words of the great Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Vermont Humanities endeavors to embrace this value in every aspect of our work. Donate today and join us in fostering and facilitating connections and experiences that have the power to impact all Vermonters.
With gratitude for your support and engagement,
Christopher Kaufman Ilstrup
Executive Director
P.S. We’ve made it easier to give online by credit card, Google Pay, or Apple Pay! Visit vermonthumanities.org/donate to make a one-time or monthly recurring gift. Thank you!
