Lake Erie Ink splashes into Its fourth summer

LEI campers and volunteers laughing while posing for a quick picture during the 2013 community connections camp.

Starting its fourth summer of creative programming, Lake Erie Ink is excited to be flourishing in the Heights. Co-founders Cynthia Larsen and Amy Rosenbluth started Lake Erie Ink three years ago to create a safe space to remind young writers of the power of expression, and enable them to collaborate with youths throughout Greater Cleveland.

Ink Spot, Lake Erie Ink’s popular after-school program, encourages students in grades four and up to participate in a variety of creative projects, including poetry composition, fiction writing, comic strip creation, playwriting and song writing.

Since its start in 2011, Lake Erie Ink has expanded its reach in the community to offer an exciting lineup of summer programs. New this summer, a teen digital media camp with Dee Jay Doc offers kids the chance to record a personal narrative using audio and visual technology, and create their own music video. Supported by a Nord Family Foundation grant, teens can participate at no cost, but space is limited.

Lake Erie Ink is also bringing back favorite summer sessions such as WordPlay: Puppetry and PlayWriting, Comics and Graphic Storytelling, Community Connections and Writing Outside the Box.

Ongoing relationships with John Carroll University, Cleveland Institute of Art and Hiram College are helping Lake Erie Ink to grow and fulfill its goal of creating a writing space for youth.

Anyone interested in volunteering with Lake Erie Ink, or in registering for a summer program can call 216-320-4757. For more information, visit www.lakeerieink.org.

"Spring," a poem by Anthony, a fifth-grade writer at Lake Erie Ink, ushers in the warm-weather season:

It’s not too cold,
it’s not too hot
the season is changing,
it’s changing a lot.

The grass is growing,
the flowers bloom,
the snow is heading
to its doom.

Christin Van Atta

Christin Van Atta is a Cleveland writer working as a graduate assistant at Kent State University, teaching composition.

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Volume 7, Issue 6, Posted 10:45 AM, 06.02.2014