Grant Awarded: October 2001

Type of Grant: Public Humanities Development Grant

Sponsor: Humanities Council at the Grand Rapids Public Library

Contact: Linda Samuelson, 616-774-1776, lsamuels@grpl.org

Award: $15,000

Website: www.grpl.org

Humanities Council at the Grand Rapids Public Library has been awarded $15,000 from Michigan Humanities Council for "Exploring the Vitality of Grand Rapids' Neighborhoods." Project activities include: create a series of professional-quality storyboards to display the history of Grand Rapids' neighborhoods to follow the format of the new book, Heart and Soul: The Story of Grand Rapids Neighborhoods (Eerdmans: 2001); schedule a display of these exhibits in six branches of the library and four neighborhood associations and selected local third-grade classrooms; sponsor a series of humanities scholars' presentations to coincide with exhibit openings; stimulate new writing of personal histories; train third-grade teachers on how to use these resources; and, build a new website to make exhibits available universally.