Our goal with the SuperLiterate Project is to work with the at-risk kids in foster care and homeless shelters and give them the help they need to improve their literacy, strengthen their cognitive resources and provide mentoring that can help them straighten up and fly right. Their current environment is so harsh it often leads to anti-social behavior and in many cases crime and imprisonment.
How we accomplish this will be through ongoing outreach for fundraising purposes. Promotions at Comic Book Conventions to gather Patreon subscribers and co-promotions with the publishers that can benefit from an expanding user base. The Public Library system will come into play with their selection of graphic novels and database of digital comics.
Swag will be a significant income generator for this project and books, limited edition prints, clothing, even short-run action figures will need to be in constant production. This will keep things exciting and give valid reasons for knocking on the interested parties digital doors with our never-ending supply of fundraising goodies. We’ll be like the Girl Scouts with the goodies. We can be the Geek Scouts.
Gamification should be easy. We can create a reward system for avid readers that allows them to earn prizes we gather donations. We hope to work with artists to make highly sought after streetwear that would be coveted and worth striving for. Trivia contests for some of the stories the Book Club works with could also help stimulate interest.
For fundraising, an affiliate system could be set in place for those that help promote the cause. Affiliates could be rewarded with commissions on sales of merchandise and maybe incentivized to take it in trade at a much higher commission level. In this rabid community of fans, something like a Grand Prize dinner with a celebrity, participating in an interview, or attending a meet and greet with a star of a comic book movie property- could really get them working on promotions. Red carpet events and insiders parties really get the fan community excited. This could be a lot of fun. So much fun it would rarely feel like work (even though it may very well become a significant part of my own life’s work).
Once an initial program is set into motion we would love to expand. A reading room and event space/workshop would be ideal. Plus, once we create a good set of best practices the program can expand to as many cities that need it.
