Community Thrives: Race to $3000 for the Teen Book Project
Lake Erie Ink is excited to be a part of the Community Thrives crowdfunding campaign this year.
A Community Thrives is a grantmaking and crowdfunding program from the USA TODAY NETWORK, which includes USA TODAY and Gannett’s hundred of local media brands. The initiative is part of the Gannett Foundation and supports nonprofit organizations with projects focused on community building. If we are able to raise $3000 in support of Lake Erie Ink and our Teen Book Project over the next month, we will be eligible for both additional project grants in support of the Teen Book Project and General Operating Grants.
Beyond the eligibility for a grant for the Teen Book Project, Lake Erie Ink can leverage additional dollars through challenge grants throughout the campaign. There are top fundraiser grants of $10,000-$25,000, awarded to the top three fundraisers at the end of the challenge period as well as bonus challenge grants that are awarded weekly for most donors and most money raised within the week. The bonus challenge grants are anywhere from $3,000-$5,000.
This week, the bonus challenge is for the largest number of unique donors, so every person who donates will count towards our total and give us the opportunity to receive an additional; $5,000 of support. Also, please help us spread the word! Share on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to help us leverage this important funding to support creative youth voice in Cleveland.
Questions about the campaign? Reach out to our Development Manager, Abby Star, astar@lakeerieink.org
Teen Book Project – On the Other Side Now Available
A Word of Thanks
We offer our deepest gratitude to our young professional board, Fresh Ink, for sponsoring this program. Fresh Ink is a group of young professionals who raise funds and friends in support of Lake Erie Ink’s mission. This program is also made possible with the support of the Callahan Foundation and the Nord Family Foundation.
The books in this series are produced by Belt Magazine. Thank you, Belt, for your commitment to grooming the Rust Belt writers of tomorrow.
Summer Ink: Creature Creations, Teen News Room and MORE!
This summer, Lake Erie Ink asks the question: how do we grow together?One way is through our new series of creative expression camps. We’ve worked hard to create programs that will meet youth needs at all grade levels while accommodating a variety of schedules and safety concerns. We are running summer camps both in-person and virtually.
In Person Camps: June 14 – August 6
Virtual Evening Ink: June 14 – July 29
In Person Camps
2-week, daytime camps
Virtual Evening Ink Programs
Held once a week for 6 weeks
LOGISTICS
The chart above indicated the start and end date for each camp. Our virtual camps will be held in 6 weekly sessions with a break the week of July 5th. There will be no virtual camps the week of July 4.
If you would like to download a copy of our Summer Ink flyer, click here!
COVID GUIDELINES: We will be following the health guidelines suggested by health officials. Space is limited, and camps will be held outside except in the event of inclement weather. We will limit registration for in-person camps to 14 with 2 groups of 7 participants each. Please call us at 216-320-4757 if you would like more information or see our FAQ WITH MORE DETAILS ON COVID GUIDELINES.
COST
The registration fee for each in person camp is $150.
Evening Ink programs are $60.
Scholarships and discounts are available. You will get a $10 discount per sibling or $10 off your second camp.
Payment can be made online from our registration page! Click here to register!
Questions
Contact Jill Levin, Program Director at 216-320-4757 or jlevin@lakeerieink.org.
9th Annual Kids’ Comic Con
Click Here to Register
Comic Con Schedule at a glance:
What’s Happening at Comic Con?
Comic Con Kick Off Event – All Ages (adults too) | 7-8:30 pm | Friday, March 19
Join us for a conversation with Brian Azzarello, a Cleveland-grown comic book writer for D.C. comics! Brian Azzarello has been writing comics professionally since the mid-1990s and is know for many DC titles including the the Harvey and Eisner Award-winning 100 BULLETS!
Comic Con Workshops – Friday, March 19, after school for grades 3-6 | Saturday, March 20, 10:00 am -4:00 pm All Ages
Featuring a range of talented guest artists and awesome workshop topics! Click HERE to see the full workshop list.
Comic Con Panels – All ages | 10:00 am -4:00 pm | Saturday, March 20
Join us for a series of discussions with comic book artists and experts on a range of topics.:
- Comics Represent! –How well does the industry represent marginalized communities?
- Learning through Comics –How can educators and parents use comics for learning?
- The Cleveland Connection – Who are the comic book talents coming from or writing about Cleveland?
- Careers in Comics – What are the ins and outs of making a career in comics?
- Arts as Activism/Social Justice – How do artists use their work to effect change?
Evening Reading – Teens & Adults | 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm | Saturday, March 20
Join us for a program featuring a reading and Q&A with Alison Bechdel, known for her memoir Fun Home, which became a Broadway musical. She is also known for her long running comic strip Dykes To Watch Out For. Alison’s comics have appeared in The New Yorker, Slate, McSweeney’s, The New York Times Book Review, and Granta.
Teen After Party – Grades 6-12 | 7:30 pm – 9 pm | Saturday, March 20
Evening program features cosplay and Comic Social Clubs with guest artists!
CLICK HERE TO SEE FULL SCHEDULE
Who’s coming to Comic Con?
Dawn Arrington – Kate Atherton – Brian Azzarello – Alison Bechdel – Dr. Michael Bitz – Nicole Boose – Sequoia Bostick – Gary Dumm – Greg Anderson Elysée – Juan Jose Fernandez – Jim Giar – Michael Gill – Shauna J. Grant – Matt Haberbusch – Miguel C. Hernandez – Gabe Kusner – Lisa Kollins – Terri Libenson – Michelle Littlejohn – Scott MacGregor – Perris “p_ ThaNerd” Mackey – Wendy MacNaughton – Deidre McPherson – Clarence D. Merriweather – Awet Moges – MeSseD Comics by Creative Mussel – Kelly O’Grady – James Quarles – Jarod “Od” Perry-Richardson – Brad Ricca – Gilberto Rivera – Karen Sandstrom – Mike Sangiacomo – John Siuntres – Lee Smith – Marc Sumerak – Gina Washington – West 10 G productions (Antonio Harper and Abby Burton) – David Wilson – Valentino L. Zullo – YOU!
Cost & Logistics
We are so happy to be able to offer this event at no cost to kids and families because of our partners and generous sponsors. We’re thrilled that the Cleveland Public Library is hosting the event. Lake Erie Ink is a long time CPL partner and both organizations are looking forward to helping young people experience the joy of creative expression during these challenging times! You can register for the event using our registration form here!
If you are interested in registering a group: click here
Registering for comic con will give you access to our full selection of workshops, panels and events for which your registration age makes you eligible. you do not have to register for any specific workshop or panel individually.
Even though the 9th Annual Kids Comic Con is free, your donation of $25 will go directly towards the cost of one of the teaching and guest artists. You can make your donation to support this year’s Comic Con here! If you want to buy a Comic Con T-shirt, click here!
All programs and panels will be held virtually. Upon registration, details about accessing your virtual codes will be sent through email.
Thank you to our sponsors!
Heroic Journeys from the Mary Bethune School 8th Grade
The eighth grade students in Ms. Uter and Ms. Inzana’s class during the 2019-2020 school year wrote this amazing anthology of hero’s journeys.
Read it here! Awesome Adventures
Comics Week Starts NEXT WEEK!
Summer may be coming to a close but we’ve still got a couple tricks up our sleeves! With two different programs to get your comic jam on, Comics Week promises to get you writing, drawing, and having fun!
Comics Week will run August 9th-August 12th. Open to 6th-12th grade. Register for one or both. $60 for each or $100 for both. Scholarships are available: for more information on scholarships, email arosenbluth@lakeerieink.org!
All programs in person at lake erie ink, 2843 Washington Blvd. Cleveland Heights, Ohio
‘Zine Making
Grades 6-12 | 6:30-8:00 PM | Every day August 9-12 | $60 (for the week)
Make a givable, sellable, tradeable zine out of your own comics and drawings in just four days.
Fantastic Characters, and How to Make Them.
Grades 6-12 | 2:00-4:00 PM | Every day August 9-12 | $60 (for the week)
For this course, you will learn the fundamentals of character design! You’ll write compelling backstories, then design unique and eye-catching characters to go along with it!
Summer Ink 2021 Is Coming – Registration Opens 3/23!
Summer Ink 2021 is coming soon! Our creative expression camps will be both virtual and in person outdoors this year. We have camps for Kids, tweens, teens, and everything in-between! All camps will cost $150 for in person camps and $60 for virtual camps with scholarships available. Virtual camps will meet for 6 weeks once a week and in person camps will meet every weekday in the morning or afternoon for two weeks.
Registration opens 3/23!
Creative Writing from Mary Bethune School–Fall 2020
This fall, the creative writers of Mary Bethune School in Cleveland did all of our writing online. Check out our stories and poems here. This residency was funded by a teaching artist grant from the Ohio Arts Council.
Fourth Grade Persona Poems on Nearpod
In my House: Poems by Ms. Ardis’s 4th Graders
Picture Books about the Lost Children of Sudan by the 7th Grade
- Another Sudanese Journey
- A Long Trip to Safety: Sarah and Amai’s Adventure
- The Great Adventure Across Northern Africa
Fan Fiction from the Eighth Grade (The New Adventures of 5 Sisters from The Summer of the Mariposas)
True Stories from Bethune Middle School Students
Thanks to a teaching artist grant from the Ohio Arts Council, the seventh graders at Mary Bethune School in Cleveland wrote these amazing personal narratives in the fall of 2019.
Read their anthology of true stories here.
Bethune 5th Grade Anthology 2019-2020
Check out these amazing poems and Greatest of All Time (GOAT Reviews) by Ms. Wadsworth’s 5th grade class at Mary Bethune K-8 School in Cleveland, Ohio!
Click here for “WHAT WE LOVE: PERSUASIVE ESSAYS & POEMS”
Funded with a teaching artist grant from the Ohio Arts Council.
