SAG-AFTRA Foundation Presents Storyline Online® Summer Camp for Kids!
July 6, 2020
LOS ANGELES (July 6, 2020) – Summer is here, but this is unlike any summer on record. School may be “out,” but young readers are still at home searching for productive and creative ways to pass their time, and the SAG-AFTRA Foundation believes that opens up new avenues of reading opportunities and storytelling for children worldwide.
That’s why the Foundation’s free online literacy website Storyline Online® is launching its inaugural Storyline Online Summer Camp (https://youtu.be/a-uk0IwVXJo) with help from readers Jaime Camil, Mark Duplass, CCH Pounder, and Mary Steenburgen! Summer Camp is a time when young people join together in arts, crafts, sports and storytelling–especially around the campfire! While many kids can still engage in these activities, they’ll be doing it with parents and siblings instead of a gang of other children. That’s why Storyline Online® is inviting all young readers across the world to join its first-ever Summer Camp by recording themselves reading their favorite book–or writing their own book and reading it to us – in the spirit and style of Storyline Online®!
Young readers can post their stories on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #StorylineOnlineSummerCamp, and their read-alouds will be shared on the Storyline Online® Instagram platform (@storylineonline) in its Campfire Stories so that every child “camper” all over the world can join in the fun and enjoy stories read by their friends and peers.
“Summer camp may be on hold,” says Foundation president Courtney B. Vance, “but there’s still good times to be had. We’ve spent close to 20 years reading aloud to kids, and they always want to join in the fun. By getting them on board as storytellers and creating a virtual Summer Camp where children can record their own stories to be shared, we believe that even more children will be encouraged to read, and read aloud, which is one of the most essential life skills. It’s also a great time for both children and adults. These young storytellers are really inspiring, and such a joy to watch!”
Storyline Online® Summer Camp runs from July 6 through August 31 and seeks to create a virtual collaborative atmosphere of young storytellers sharing their favorite books—that they’ve read or written themselves—and letting the world know what the stories mean to them personally.
Storyline Online® continues to add stories to its bookverse and currently provides 60 video read alouds by some of the world’s most beloved storytellers who engage young viewers with their animated interpretations of historic, adventurous and fantastical tales that promote imagination and inclusion. The Storyline Online® cast of readers includes Kristen Bell, Jaime Camil, Viola Davis, Allison Janney, Rami Malek, Chrissy Metz, Chris O’Dowd, Sarah Silverman, Wanda Sykes, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Yeoh and more, who have volunteered their time and talent to promote literacy and inspire a love of reading in children. The program also provides supplemental teaching materials for many stories, which means that whether they’re in a classroom with a teacher or at home with a parent or caregiver, every young reader has access to a full range of educational possibilities.
To watch all of the Storyline Online® videos, visit storylineonline.net. Keep up with new videos in 2020 by subscribing to Storyline Online® on YouTube and following Storyline Online on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
ABOUT STORYLINE ONLINE
An Emmy®-nominated program of the non-profit SAG-AFTRA Foundation, Storyline Online® streams 60 videos at no
cost to children, parents, and educators worldwide. The site receives over 20
million views every month and is endorsed by the American Federation of Teachers, and named one of the best websites of 2019 by
the American Association of School Librarians. In addition to the
website, Storyline Online offers a free app for iPhone and Chrome devices. Storyline Online, like
all SAG-AFTRA Foundation programs, relies solely on support from gifts, grants
and sponsorships to produce new read alouds. For more information, visit storylineonline.net.
ABOUT THE SAG-AFTRA FOUNDATION
The SAG-AFTRA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that
provides vital assistance and free educational programming to the professionals
of SAG-AFTRA while serving the public at large through its award-winning
children’s literacy program Storyline
Online®. The Foundation relies solely on support from
gifts, grants and sponsorships to maintain its free programs. For more
information, visit sagaftra.foundation.
Connect with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation
Twitter: @sagaftraFOUND
Instagram: @sagaftraFOUND
Facebook: facebook.com/sagaftrafoundation
YouTube: youtube.com/sagaftrafoundation
Hashtag: #SAGAFTRAfound
