2013-2014 Highlights from a year and a half of TAG with Brandy as president… expanding community partnerships and hosting fun, engaging events that show the community that downtown Ypsi teens are engaged in positive activities!
2013 February Brandy’s tenure as TAG President begins.
April The book club
June Four Shout it Out
celebrates National Poetry Month by reading The Rose that Grew from Concrete by Tupac.
interns and three Summer Reading interns are hired with grant money from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Young Adult Library Services Association. The summer reading interns rework the teen summer reading program into an online game played through a blog with more prizes and it significantly increases teen participation at Michigan Avenue. The Shout It Out interns are paid to learn the ins and outs of producing a multi-act performance from Washtenaw Community College students. Work on both projects extends throughout the summer.
May Prom Dress Fashion Runway! YDL-Michigan teens partner with The Corner Health Center to showcase dresses available for area high school students who need a prom dress. TAG members turn the library’s reading room into a fashion runway with help from Joy and her husband Rick. Sixteen young women model dresses and are escorted by four young men onto the runway. DeJaun and Darius emcee the event. More volunteers help with hair, makeup and accessorizing the models.
July Shout it Out prep March Relationship Workshops are hosted by the Safe House in the Teen Zone, to help combat violence in relationships and to encourage healthy communication in relationships.
continues all month as interns audition performers! Brandy and Adom write and arrange a song with help from Toko and Erik of the local group October Babies. Interns and other TAG musicians arrange a live instrumental for freeestylers with help from Jodi’s husband Kurt. WCC intern Susan, an R&B vocalist, works with performers on confidence and stage presence.
A three-point shootout is hosted at Parkridge Park by Summer Reading interns to encourage participation in the Summer Game!
September TAG hosts a table at the second Corner Health Block Party Rock the Block. Crafts, games and music instruments highlight what the library offers teens. Teens can win books by playing games.
The second TAG Halloween Haunted House features zombies. It is too successful for the library to handle! Next year’s activities will be during regular library hours but hopefully still full of fun.
August Shout it Out III is held in the Library Park Plaza. Five interns host the 2½ hour show filled with music, dancing and fun, including a DJ and sloppy joes for performers.
December TAG members decorate the Teen Zone for the first time ever with lights and handmade ornaments. The first TAG hosted Teen Art Exhibit is put on display.
October YDL-Michigan teens take a taxi ride to YDLWhittaker for the Songwriting Festival where they work with John E. Lawrence on an original piece of music! YDL has a library table for the first time at Noise Permit, helping promote the library’s teen activities. Several acts from Shout It Out perform on the Noise Permit stage in Frog Island Park.
2014 January Mr. Cliffnote, airbrush paint artist from Detroit, shows his trade.
February Teens make chocolate covered strawberries and origami boxes at Sweets for your Sweet Valentine’s program.
The book club hosts a book giveaway with funds from a Books for Teens grant!
May TAG rents Mix Studio March A grant from YALSA provides funds for Teen Tech Week activities with local rapper and producer Jesse Givens, aka Magestik Legend.
Theater for a small showcase featuring teen poetry and music.
June Four more interns are
April Joy arranges a fieldtrip to Annette Bering’s Glass Studio. Teens take a bus ride to the studio, learn to blow glass and each make a personalized tile. Tiles are then exhibited on the main floor of the library throughout the summer.
hired for this year’s Shout It Out and the summer fun begins again!
August Shout it Out IV is held in the Library Park Plaza. Graham Lapp DJs, t-shirts are given away, the evening’s best act voted on by the audience wins a spot on the Heritage Festival’s main stage! Every year it grows thanks to dedicated TAG members.
Reading, writing, speaking, singing, learning, cooking, gaming, art, crafts, film, leadership, responsibility, respect, community, fun, friends…
Ypsilanti District LibraryMichigan Avenue Teen Advisory Group Following the mission of the Ypsilanti District Library… enriching life, stimulating intellectual curiosity, fostering literacy, and encouraging an informed citizenry!