LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. - eTradeWire -- People & Stories/Gente y Cuentos (P&S/GyC) has been approved for a $20,000 Grants for Arts Projects award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support its "Literature: Reading in Community, Writing Our Stories" Project, an innovative approach to the art form of the short story and to literature engagement.

"We are honored to receive this generous grant, selected from among 1,130 projects across the country, allowing us to provide opportunities for individuals to experience literature in a new way and develop their own voices through creative writing," P&S/GyC Board Co-Chair Andrea Honore said recently.

The "Writing Our Stories" project will provide funding for a series of reading and writing workshops to be held in English and Spanish at the following sites:

• Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Dix, New Jersey
• Libertae, Inc.: Freedom in Recovery, Bensalem, Pennsylvania
• Interim House, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• The Children's Home Society of NJ, Trenton, New Jersey

"The National Endowment for the Arts is pleased to support a wide range of projects, including People & Stories/Gente y Cuentos', demonstrating the many ways the arts enrich our lives and contribute to healthy and thriving communities," said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. "These organizations play an important role in advancing the creative vitality of our nation and helping to ensure that all people can benefit from arts, culture, and design."

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ABOUT THE PROGRAM:

"Literature: Reading in Community, Writing Our Stories" is an innovative approach to the art form of the short story and to literature engagement. Through ten sessions, each two hours long, groups of 15-20 individuals will experience literature in a new way and develop their own voices through creative writing.  P&S/GyC will deliver two ten session program series at the four community partner organizations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania listed above.

People & Stories/Gente y Cuentos' methodology is designed to remove obstacles to the reward of reading, especially for adults and young adults who have not experienced the power of literature.

For more information on other projects included in the NEA grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news (https://www.arts.gov/about/news).

ABOUT PEOPLE & STORIES/GENTE Y CUENTOS:

People & Stories/Gente y Cuentos (P&S/GyC) is dedicated to opening doors to literature for new audiences. Through oral readings and rigorous discussions of enduring short stories, we invite participants to find fresh understandings of themselves, of others, and of the world.

Our programs, offered in English and Spanish, use oral readings and structured dialogues of complex short stories to invite participants to connect their own varied life experiences to the universal themes found in great literature. Now in its 50th year, our program methodology effectively removes obstacles to the rewards of reading, especially for adults and young adults who identify as not having the skill, confidence, or motivation to read independently.

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Our participants include men and women who are incarcerated or engaged in re-entry, residents in halfway houses and homeless shelters, recent immigrants, and low-income seniors in residential settings. By and large, the individuals we serve are reading at or below a 5th grade level, have not completed high-school, or are economically disadvantaged. A critical bridge, People & Stories / Gente y Cuentos provides hope and skills for moving forward.

People and Stories/Gente y Cuentos is located at 295 Eggerts Crossing Road, Lawrenceville, NJ and is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. by appointment.  Most programs are held at partner sites and other locations.  For more information, call 609-882-4926 or visit www.peopleandstories.org

Follow People & Stories/Gente y Cuentos  on social media:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/peopleandstoriesgenteycuentos

Instagram: @peopleandstories.genteycuentos

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/psgyc/