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YOUTH
UNITED: HOOKED ON BOOKS
NEW MEXICO STUDENTS WIN GCA
CHALLENGE!
Youth United, a group of middle and high school
students from Santa Fe, New Mexico, have been named
winners of the 2012 Global Call to Action Challenge,
co-sponsored by the Pearson Foundation and PeaceJam.
The award recognizes the group’s outstanding literacy
campaign, Hooked on Books, a citywide effort led and
coordinated by Youth United to inspire and encourage
children with the joys of reading.
In a short time, Youth United’s efforts have made
a major impact on the children and community of Santa
Fe. Hooked on Books began in 2011 as a project of
students at the Santa Fe School for Arts and Sciences.
Inspired by their teacher, Rayna Dineen, and a trip to
India to visit a model literacy program there, the
students began organizing monthly reading contests in
Santa Fe elementary schools. Their group, Youth
United, evolved into a citywide student committee, and
working with local government and businesses, they
formed a larger coalition, the New Mexico Alliance for
Literacy, which promotes literacy among young people
across the Santa Fe area.
 As Challenge Grand Prize winners, representatives
of Youth United will attend the annual PeaceJam Hero
Awards Luncheon taking place in Denver on November 13,
2012 to receive their award from 2011 Nobel Peace
Prize winner Leymah Gbowee. Ms. Gbowee led a peaceful
women's movement in Liberia, which played a pivotal
role in ending the Liberian Civil War.
In addition to their trip to Denver, Youth United
has earned a daylong visit to their school by one of
the Nobel Peace Laureates who serve on PeaceJam's
Board. During the visit, the Nobel Laureate will meet
with the students and discuss new approaches and
strategies for their Hooked on Books campaign. The
winning team’s trip and the Nobel Laureate’s visit to
their school are funded by the Pearson Foundation as
part of its support of the Global Call to Action
Challenge. In addition, the Pearson Foundation is
donating 1,000 books to the Hooked on Books effort as
part of its digital literacy program, We Give
Books.
The strategy of the Youth United activists is to
offer incentives to get kids to start reading,
confident that it will then become a lifelong habit.
In Hooked on Books monthly contests, elementary school
children are awarded prizes for reading and for
creating motivational tools for the campaign such as
posters. The prizes have included bicycles,
skateboards and Kindle ebook readers. Contests often
culminate in events such as a Halloween Masquerade
Ball.
Hooked on Books also has a presence outside of
school through free book swap shelves located in
supermarkets, hospital waiting rooms, and other places
where families and children spend time. These mini
lending libraries are sponsored by local businesses
and the shelves are stocked and maintained by Youth
United volunteers.
In the summer of 2012, Youth United ran a free
intensive reading summer day camp called Reading Is
Magic. Using game play and other innovative
techniques, the student volunteers made a measurable
difference in the abilities of the younger children
who attended the camp. On average, participants
increased their reading scores on standardized tests
by one grade level after just two weeks of camp.
The Global Call to Action Challenge, which
encourages young people to document their service
learning projects and achievements, is part of
PeaceJam’s international mission of promoting the
creation and implementation of one billion local
service projects that extend the work of leading Nobel
Peace Laureates including Leymah Gbowee, Jody
Williams, the Dalai Lama, and Archbishop Desmond
Tutu.
“Hooked on Books and the work of Youth United in
Santa Fe, shows once again the power of young people
to improve their schools, their communities, and the
world,” said Dawn Engle, PeaceJam co-founder. “Instead
of waiting for adults to act, these inspirational
young leaders have shown the way, tackling the serious
problem of illiteracy and creating long-lasting and
measurable results. Their work echoes the dedication
and selflessness of the Nobel Peace Prize winners in
helping to make the world a better place and they
stand as models for everyone, young and old.
“These young people show us through their actions
that it is possible for anyone to make a positive
contribution and improve the lives of those around
us,” said Mark Nieker, president and CEO of the
Pearson Foundation. “Like past Global Call to Action
winners, the students of Youth United provide a model
of positive engagement and a rejection of apathy and
indifference. We are very happy to continue our
support of PeaceJam and the Global Call to Action
Challenge, to help recognize and encourage young
activists who are building a better world.”
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The Pearson Foundation is the lead sponsor of the Global Call to Action Challenge and is the philanthropic arm of Pearson plc, one of the world's leading media and education companies. The Pearson Foundation extends Pearson’s commitment to education by partnering with leading nonprofit, civic, and business organizations to provide financial, organizational, and publishing assistance across the globe. For more information on the Pearson Foundation, please visit www.pearsonfoundation.org.