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REACHING OUT

 

 

Mobirise

The beauty of reading is that a good book makes you want to learn more. An inspiring book calls you to do something. And we all can make our communities more vibrant, more fun, and kinder. As an author, I’ve been privileged to work with many knowledgeable and interesting people. Here you’ll find links to start your own journeys and a few ideas for giving back to the community. Kids or adults, teachers, writers, students, librarians – we can all discover more. Here are some ideas to get you started. Click the arrows to find links in each category. Enjoy

Teachers - Suzanne will consider discounting the fee for your school visit if your students successfully complete a community project for literacy, veterans, or our earth. Contact her for more information.

Spread Literacy
Organize a book drive for a school or organization that needs books. Ten Steps for a Book Drive
Build a Little Free Library. If you can’t build it, ask for help. https://littlefreelibrary.org/

Support veterans in your community
Write letters thanking Active Military, Veterans and First Responders - Operation Gratitude. https://www.operationgratitude.com/express-your-thanks/write-letters/
Organize a collection of necessary items for your local VA Hospital, Fisher House, or homeless veterans. Be sure to contact them first to find out their needs and set best dates.
Host a fundraiser for Canine Companions for Independence – many of their service dogs go to injured veterans. http://www.cci.org/get-involved/...

Help our earth
Check out these ideas from the Earth Day Network for your classroom to reduce the effects of Climate Change: https://www.earthday.org/campaign/environmental-education/
Kids Take Action on Climate Change: Print this poster shared by Climate Reality, with permission of National Geographic Kids Magazine. Pick out some ways you can help, and do them! Yay you. http://www.climaterealityproject.org/...
Check this out –to learn more about helping our earth. Games too! from NatGeoKids.com https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/nature/save-the-earth-hub/

Everyone should have access to books and information. Check out these organizations.

American Library Association: All the news, awards, and up to date information on literacy.
http://www.ala.org/

Little Free Library: So cool, build one and share reading with your community.
https://littlefreelibrary.org/

First Books: Provides free and low cost books to schools and organizations that serve children in need.
https://firstbook.org/

Pen America: Advocates for free speech and journalism. From website, “PEN America works to ensure that people everywhere have the freedom to create literature, to convey information and ideas, to express their views, and to access the views, ideas, and literatures of others."
https://pen.org/

Spread the Word Nevada: provides free books, on a regular basis, to students in targeted schools in Nevada.
http://spreadthewordnevada.org/

Every child should experience a world of books. Every child should find himself in the pages of books. Here are some placed to start.

We Need Diverse Books Resources for teachers, parents, and writers - about where to find and how to support the creation and distribution of diverse books for children.
https://diversebooks.org/resources/

40 Multicultural Booklists from Pragmatic Mom blogger:
https://www.pragmaticmom.com/booklists/multicultural-books-for-children/

Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison - publishes an annual report on diverse books published during the year.
https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/literature-resources/ccbc-diversity-statistics/

When I wrote Bull Rider I learned about the sacrifices of our military men and women and the challenges of those who returned from service with Traumatic Brain Injury. Here are just a few resources to help veterans.

Disabled American Veterans; http://www.dav.org/

Fischer House Helping Military Families http://www.fisherhouse.org/

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America; https://iava.org/quick-reaction-force/

Brainline - an organization that helps people living with traumatic brain injury. https://www.brainline.org/

Canine Companions for Independence - trains and provides service dogs for disabled people and veterans. http://www.cci.org/

Understanding a Vetern with PTSD - resources from Marysville University. 
online.maryville.edu/online-bachelors-degrees/psychology/understanding-a-veteran-with-ptsd/

What is PTSD? - an informative article on identifying and dealing with PTSD from SingleCare. https://www.singlecare.com/blog/what-is-ptsd/

To take action to help our military personnel and veterans open the Community Projects section above. 

Here are some places to learn more about the West’s wild horses.

American Wild Horse Campaign: A national organization protecting wild horses
https://americanwildhorsecampaign.org/

The Cloud Foundation: Works for wild horses
https://www.thecloudfoundation.org/

Hidden Valley Wild Horse Protection Association: Rescues and manages wild horses in Northern Nevada’s Virginia Range – Wild Horse Annie’s herds
http://www.hiddenvalleyhorses.com/main.php

I fell in love with the Arctic and its people when I visited to research my nonfiction book The Inuit. Here are some links to learn more –

National Geographic Article on melting tundra
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/tundra-threats/

Arctic Winter Games – an international sports event for youth and adults from circumpolar countries.
http://www.arcticwintergames.org/

Live camera of Northern Lights in Scandinavia (add 6 to 9 hours from U.S. time – if you are seeing the sun, it may be night there!) Take a peek.
https://virmalised.ee/aurora-live-cameras/

Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears: From Ohio State University - A comprehensive list of lessons, photos, and resources for understanding the Arctic, its people, and climate.
https://beyondpenguins.ehe.osu.edu/issue/climate-change-and-the-polar-regions/lessons-and-activities-to-build-the-foundations-for-climate-literacy

I love my home state of Nevada. Want to know more? Check these out.

Travel Nevada - from Nevada Department of Tourism. https://travelnevada.com/

ONE - Online Nevada Encyclopedia, from Nevada Humanities. http://onlinenevada.org/

Click to see some of my favorite Nevada photos.

If you liked Bull Rider, you may be interested in learning about or going to a rodeo.

National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum: In Oklahoma City, home of a world class collection of art, the Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Awards
https://nationalcowboymuseum.org

National High School Rodeo Association: Events for Junior High and High School students.
https://www.nhsra.com/

Professional Bull Riders Association: All the events and statistics
https://www.pbr.com/

Professional Rodeo Cowboy’s Association: Rodeo events around the country.
http://www.prorodeo.com/