Originally published in October 2024. Since 2017, The Literacy Cooperative has partnered with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to send free books each month to local children. Working with local groups like Heights Family Foundation, United Way, and the Bruening Foundation, as of October 2024, the groups have now distributed two million books.

Run Your City Cleveland returns to Edgewater Park this fall for its third season, offering a free six-week running program for children in kindergarten through eighth grade. Led by Cleveland State University student-athletes, the program combines running, team activities, and mentorship to help local youth build confidence, resilience and healthy habits.

Cleveland Public Theatre's Student Theatre Enrichment Program (STEP) gives young artists more than a summer theater experience—they write, build, and perform an original production while developing professional skills and confidence. This year's free outdoor tour, 'Getting Back to Once Upon a Time,' brings student-created theater directly into Cleveland neighborhoods.

Students at Cleveland Metropolitan School District's Willson School recently restored and redesigned six rain barrels outside Historic St. Casimir Church—combining public art with environmental stewardship. The colorful barrels help reduce stormwater runoff while giving students a hands-on lesson in conservation, local ecosystems, and community engagement.

The Cavaliers and the Kids' Book Bank yesterday launched the Cavs Book Bus at Artemus Ward School, a mobile literacy initiative presented by KeyBank. The Book Bus, powered by a Ford F-250 truck from Valley Ford Truck, will be used to narrow literacy gaps by giving free books to students in under-resourced Cleveland neighborhoods.

Eleven years after 12-year-old Tamir Rice was fatally shot by Cleveland police, his mother, Samaria Rice, and playwright and former Karamu House artistic director Terence Spivey are reprising the 2016 theatrical production "Objectively/Reasonable: A Community Response to the Shooting of Tamir Rice, 11/22/14." The Saturday, Nov. 8 staging at Near West Theatre will raise funds for the Tamir Rice Afro-Centric Cultural Center.

Lake Erie Ink and Cleveland State University English department will host the fifth annual Teen Writers' Symposium, allowing young writers in grades six through 12 to explore their creativity and develop their writing skills through workshops, panel discussions, and interactions with guest writers.

Global Ambassadors Language Academy (GALA) in the West Park neighborhood is the state's only dual language charter academy offering immersion in Spanish and Mandarin. Since its inception in 2016, GALA has grown steadily each year, setting students up for success in an increasingly globalized world.

Lake Erie Ink's 13th annual Kids' Comic Con occurs this weekend at moCa and the Cleveland Museum of Art Community Arts Center at the Pivot Center. The two-day event offers young artists and storytellers an immersive experience in comic creation and artistic expression with workshops, guest artists, an Artists' Alley, and activities.

The Banned Wagon will roll into Lakewood Public Library next week to give away free books on a tour spearheaded by Penguin Random House to promote awareness of book challenges and censorship during Banned Books Week.