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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- March 21, 2008
CONTACT: Scott Hirko, Public Relations Officer,
shirko [at] mihumanities.org, 517-372-0029 ext. 25

Steelcase Foundation Awards $10,000; Frey Foundation Awards $5,000 for The Great Michigan Read 

(LANSING)----- The Michigan Humanities Council (MHC) announces it is the recipient of $15,000 to support The Great Michigan Read.  The Steelcase Foundation awarded the MHC $10,000 and the Frey Foundation awarded the MHC $5,000.  Both foundations are based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The funds will be used for The Great Michigan Read collaborating organizations and events located in Western Michigan.  The Great Michigan Read seeks to increase the reading of literature by focusing on The Nick Adams Stories by Ernest Hemingway. The Nick Adams Stories is a coming of age tale inspired by the author’s boyhood experiences in Northern Michigan.

“The Michigan Humanities Council appreciates the financial support from the Steelcase Foundation and the Frey Foundation to help support Great Michigan Read programs in Western Michigan,” said Janice Fedewa, executive director of the Michigan Humanities Council.  “The program is already a great success, and we anticipate thousands more Michiganians will read a masterpiece made in Michigan and become engaged in other literary programs.”

The Frey Foundation is a family foundation committed to working together to make a difference in the lives of individuals, families, organizations, and communities. The Steelcase Foundation was established in 1951 to make grants to non-profit organizations to support projects and programs. The Steelcase Foundation focuses on the areas of human service, health, education, community development, the arts, and the environment.

To date, more than 180 organizations and more than 130 communities across the state are participating in The Great Michigan Read.  Reader’s guides, bookmarks, posters, and other opportunities are available to participating cultural organizations. Valerie Hemingway, author of Running with the Bulls, a memoir of her years as Ernest Hemingway’s secretary and her later marriage to his son, Gregory Hemingway, will tour six cities in Michigan from April 23-29, 2008 (Lansing, Hamtramck, Grand Rapids, Marquette, Traverse City, Saginaw).

Additional information is available at www.greatmichiganread.org or by contacting the MHC at 517-372-7770. The Michigan Humanities Council, founded in 1974, is the state’s independent, non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.#####