“These are all our children. We will profit by, or pay for, whatever they become.” James Baldwin
Unleash the Genius Reading Initiative is sponsored by Vulgar Geniuses LLC., a multi-platform literary based company dedicated to highlighting contemporary Black and Brown writers from across the diaspora. Unleash the Genius will be a nationwide campaign to help expand the love for reading among children between the ages of 5-18. Our hope is to establish the importance of reading diverse books in schools, homes and communities. By focusing solely on books that have been written specifically by Black and Brown writers, and exposing children to diverse writers will allow them to identify with characters and stories that are similar to them as well as broaden their worldview. During this peculiar and unprecedented time we understand that going back to school has been hard for everybody; teachers, students, parents alike. With this initiative we want to serve our community by helping to engage with students and teachers by creating a fun way to endorse the love of reading.
The Unleash the Genius Reading Initiative has chosen to partner with the "Ms. B. Jones Book Club" in our launch of reading the novel “Ghost” by New York Times best-selling author, Jason Reynolds. We have teamed up with an amazing educator for our first mission. Briana Jones is a first year 5th grade elementary teacher at Eccleston Elementary School based in Orlando, Florida. She came into education as a substitute teacher who exhibited a gift of teaching and love for children in Orlando’s most underserved communities.
To accomplish our goal, we are asking that you consider partnering with us by making a $10.00 contribution toward our target of $1,000 to launch this campaign. Each child will get a personal "Unleash the Genius Kit" that will come with a personal copy of the novel, a reading journal for digital classroom discussions, bookmark, pencil, and stickers. In addition, the teacher will receive a personal audiobook edition of the chosen novel as well as a teaching kit for the novel.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to consider giving back to the community. Please continue to share this campaign page with your friends, families and networks. We know that you are willing to help make our world better, one child at a time.
Dennie Wang & Veronica Smith
Founders of Vulgar Geniuses, LLC