Diane Luby Lane, founder of Get Lit – Words Ignite, the Los Angeles-based educational nonprofit founded in 2006 to improve literacy, empower youth, and energize communities through poetry and visual media, announced today that this year’s 15th annual Get Lit Gala will be a launch party for Uni(verse). The event will be held virtually on December 11, 2021. Award-winning actress and activist Jane Fonda will participate in a very special reading of the UNI (VERSE) Launch Poem, created from hundreds of verses submitted worldwide as part of Get Lit’s 1,000 Verses / $1,000,000 campaign.
Get Lit transforms the lives of young people worldwide through classical and spoken word poetry. Through specialized curricula, the program provides a creative outlet, community, and real-world work experience, turning students into activists, scholars, and stars. The Uni(verse) Launch Party will feature Get Lit’s brand new, one-of-a-kind poetry sharing platform Uni(verse), the world’s first interactive poetry platform for the classroom and youth community. Uni(verse) is based on the award-winning and impactful poetry, literacy, and empowerment curriculum that Get Lit has always offered. The platform allows students around the world to access the program online and share ideas inside and outside of school.
Tickets to the virtual launch party are free and can be purchased at GetLit.org/Universe-Launch. Everyone who donates $1,000 or more will be invited to post their favorite verse on Get Lit’s interactive poetry wall (or sponsor a student or teacher to post their favorite verse) and may be included in the original poem recited by award-winning actress and activist Jane Fonda during the gala and launch party on December 11. Each entrant will receive a commemorative booklet of the poem UNI (VERSE).
“Get Lit’s UNI(VERSE) platform leverages custom, cutting-edge technology to foster greater learning and collaboration opportunities in arts/language education, which is usually reserved exclusively for students in STEM. We couldn’t be more excited to be able to bring the gift of spoken word poetry to students and teachers all over the world,” stated Founder Diane Luby Lane. “Our new interactive Poetry Wall is an example of how poetry can bring us all together. I can’t wait to share the created UNI(VERSE) poem with our attendees during this year’s gala.”
The goal of this launch party is to receive a $100,000 donation from the Gary Saltz Foundation by Dec. 11 and raise an additional $1,000,000 by Dec. 31. Everyone who donates $1,000 or more will be invited to participate in the interactive virtual poetry wall and have a chance to have their verse included in the UNI (VERSE) poem that will be read by Jane Fonda the night of the launch party. Donations received will help make the Get Lit curriculum and UNI (VERSE) platform available to students in classrooms around the world.
