HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Pennyroyal Arts Council recently received a grant of $15,000 to host the National Educational Association (NEA) Big Read in Hopkinsville. Pennyroyal Arts Council is one of 78 nonprofit organizations to receive an NEA Big Read grant.
The Big Read grant enables a town to host a community reading program between September 2019 and June 2020. The NEA Big Read in Christian County will focus on Our Town by Thornton Wilder. Activities will take place between October 1st and November 8th.
“The NEA Big Read grant has been a highlight of our programming for the past five years. Our community partners are very excited about our selection this year and plan to put a spotlight on our town, Hopkinsville, in the journey,” said Margaret Prim, executive director of the Pennyroyal Arts Council. “We work closely with our public, private and homeschool children on programming and books. Our community involvement has helped us to secure this grant for six consecutive years.”
“It is inspiring to see both large and small communities across the nation come together around a book,” said National Endowment for the Arts Acting Chairman Mary Anne Carter. “We always look forward to the unique ways cities, towns, and organizations, like Pennyroyal Arts Council, explore these stories and encourage community participation in a wide variety of events.”
The NEA Big Read showcases a diverse range of titles that reflect many different voices and perspectives, aiming to inspire conversation and discovery. The main feature of the initiative is a grants program, managed by Arts Midwest, which annually supports dynamic community reading programs, each designed around a single National Endowment for the Arts Big Read selection.
For the sixth consecutive year, The Pennyroyal Arts Council will be partnering with Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library, Museums of Historic Hopkinsville-Christian County, and many other local organizations and businesses to bring a variety of programming to our community.
Since 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts has funded more than 1,400 NEA Big Read programs, providing more than $20 million to organizations nationwide. In addition, Big Read activities have reached every Congressional district in the country. Over the past twelve years, grantees have leveraged more than $50 million in local funding to support their NEA Big Read programs.
More than 5.7 million Americans have attended an NEA Big Read event, approximately 91,000 volunteers have participated at the local level, and 39,000 community organizations have partnered to make NEA Big Read activities possible. For more information about the NEA Big Read, please visit arts.gov/neabigread.