We join the SAG-AFTRA Foundation in celebrating the first day of Women’s History Month by sharing this video and story of Jane Addams, from the children’s book The House that Jane Built as read by actor Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men, Feud).
This story is about Jane Addams, an activist and social worker who lived in Chicago around the turn of the 20th century. She was driven by her desire to help those in need and opened a community center called Hull House in 1889. By 1907, Hull House had expanded into 13 buildings to accommodate & aid the less fortunate.
In 1931, Addams became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
“Kiernan is a gifted actor and storyteller, and cared deeply about sharing this book with a younger generation. She was a natural choice to join our program,” said Cyd Wilson, Executive Director of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. “We are incredibly grateful for her support of Storyline Online and our efforts to advance children’s literacy.”
The House That Jane Built shares important values like generosity, open-mindedness and acceptance while telling the story of an unsung, revolutionary American hero. “I’m so happy this book exists and I got to learn a little more about Jane,” Shipka shares with her audience. “She makes me want to be a better person.”
Shipka added a personal message about the joys of reading to the end of the video, “Reading is magical for so many reasons. It can bring you to amazing, magical places that are beyond your wildest dreams, but it can also give you amazing, valuable and inspiring information.”
About Storyline Online
Storyline Online® features popular performers reading cherished children’s books out loud alongside animated, original illustrations. The site is available 24 hours a day at no cost to children, parents, and educators worldwide, and receives over 12 million views every month.
The House That Jane Built comes with supplemental activity guides for both home and school that strengthen verbal, written and comprehension skills. Aimed at students in the 3rd-5th grades, these activities encourage students to engage in critical thinking and ponder the themes from the book including empathy, empowerment, education and ambition.
To view The House That Jane Built and all of Storyline Online’s videos, visit storylineonline.net, and subscribe to youtube.com/storylineonline. Keep up with new videos to be released in 2017 by following @StorylineOnline on Twitter and /StorylineOnline on Facebook.
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 signature children’s literacy programs. The Foundation relies solely on support from gifts, grants and sponsorships to maintain its free programs. For more information, visit sagaftra.foundation.
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