CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Allied Arts of Greater Chattanooga has received a $7,500 grant from the Starbucks Foundation to support the Books Alive project. The project engages local artists who will provide instruction to Hamilton County students in grades 3-5 to write and illustrate books. Local artists then work with the students to bring their books to life through theatre and dance.

"Allied Arts is gratified by the Starbucks Foundation's support of our Books Alive project, which is designed to motivate and improve student writing and reading through strategic activities that also increase skills in the arts," says Rodney Van Valkenburg, Director of Arts in Education at Allied Arts. "This innovative project brings teachers and community teaching artists together to implement a creative problem-solving process that enables students to put their own thoughts, ideas, and knowledge into action."

The Books Alive project, which has also received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, calls upon students to create artwork for their books by studying and applying various media techniques such as watercolor, collage, oil, pastels, pencil, and pen and ink. Local teaching artists skilled in additional techniques such as printmaking and papermaking will lead classroom residencies in the creation of the students' books.

Among the grant focus areas of the Starbucks Foundation, based in Seattle, Wash., are arts and literacy programs that address literacy and learning in innovative ways and provide high standards of excellence for the mastery of basic skills.

"We were impressed with the focus and quality of Allied Arts' organization towards meeting the aspirations expressed in our Giving Voice program," said Cathie Bachy, Program Manager of the Starbucks Foundation. "Through this grant program, the Starbucks Foundation seeks to mobilize people as well as financial resources to make an impact at the community level."

Schools participating in the Books Alive project are also participants in the Allied Arts School Program, which strategically places the arts in 13 Hamilton County schools to enable students to increase knowledge and skills in the arts and to support literacy instruction. Participating schools are Allen Elementary, Barger Academy of Fine Arts, Battle Academy, Clifton Hills Elementary, CSAS, Daisy Elementary, East Ridge Elementary, Normal Park Museum Magnet, Ooltewah Elementary, Rivermont Elementary, Wallace A. Smith Elementary, Thrasher Elementary, and Wolftever Creek Elementary.

Since its inception in 1997, the Starbucks Foundation has awarded more than $12 million to more than 700 literacy and youth organizations throughout the United States and Canada. These grants provide organizations support in the development of innovative learning opportunities for youth ages 6-18 in arts and literacy and environmental education. Funding for the foundation comes mostly from Starbucks Coffee Company and from individual donations.