Phi Kappa Phi recently announced the 2017 Literacy Grant recipients. The grants of up to $2,500 were awarded in support of 14 literacy projects across the nation.

The Literacy Grant Program, established in 2003, provides funding to Phi Kappa Phi chapters and active members for new and ongoing projects that reinforce part of the Society's mission "to engage the community of scholars in service to others." Drawing from a multidisciplinary society of students and scholars from large and small institutions, the grants help fund projects ranging from traditional reading initiatives to those fostering learning in cultural, digital, financial, health, historical literacy and beyond.

The 2017 recipients and their respective projects are: 

• Michelle Allison, Brookwood's Leveled Reader Library
• Alexandra Kelly Brooks, Juvenile Detention Center Science Outreach Program
• Valarie Burke and Katelyn DiBenedetto, Project Transforming Tomorrow
• Russell Carpenter, Community Reads: Developing Critical Reading and Metacognitive Practices in Students
• Lesley L. Casarez, Families Who Read Together
• Rhonda Cooksey, HIKE Up Literacy
• Dalia Karina Delanuez, Tiny Book House
• Benjamin Jacob, My Story Matters: A Literacy Project
• Leah McCurdy, Bringing “To the Mountain!” to Their Ears:  A Trilingual Audiobook for Multilingual Literacy and Cultural Heritage Preservation in Belize
• Tulsi Patel, Para Tu Salud: Una Campaña de Alfabetismo (For Your Health: A Literacy Campaign)
• Will Porter, Mozambique Music School
• Muthukrishnan Sathyamoorthy, Born to Read for Minority Children
• Tettra Scott, Improving Literacy Begins with Parents 2017
• Emily Taylor Beighley, Paws and Tales

"Phi Kappa Phi is pleased to see a broad diversity in the projects awarded Literacy Grants this year," said Society Executive Director Dr. Mary Todd. "Literacy, by definition about more than reading alone, is knowledge of a particular subject. Phi Kappa Phi members’ love of learning is central to the successful transmission of knowledge, whatever the subject."

The winning projects were selected for a grant based on a number of criteria including the project’s scope, student and community involvement, impact, duration and ability to achieve success.

To learn more about this year’s recipients and projects, click here.