The Dare Dreamer Movement by Julene Fleurmond

On Dreamer ENT I had the honor of interviewing an inspiring young lady who is spreading the love of reading to the young and old alike. Check out my interview with Adele Ann Taylor founder of Adele’s Literacy Library below:

There’s nothing like a good book; you can immerse yourself in different worlds, share someone else’s experiences and ignite your own imagination to what’s possible in the world.

Adele Ann Taylor has such a passion for books and at the age of 13 decided she wanted to share her love for reading with other kids, to show them how much power it holds and how much fun it could be. This is why she founded her non-profit organization Adele’s Literacy Library™ (A.L.L.) in December 2008. The goal of A.L.L. is to “instill and empower that reading is not only fundamental, it is the key ingredient to success and through reading ALL things are possible.”

Throughout the past few years since founding A.L.L., Adele has already donated thousands of books and spoken to hundreds of kids about the power of reading. Her main goals are to donate millions of brand new books and bookmarks to schools, libraries and charitable organizations, and to “make a difference” in the lives of others through a book. She also wants to eventually offer scholarships to graduating seniors who want to pursue their educational dreams.

Adele was crowned Miss Heartland’s Outstanding Teen 2009, making her an official representative for the sister group to the Miss America Organization, and she was most recently crowned Miss Bonnie Blue Outstanding Teen 2010. She is also a featured Hero on the website Kids Are Heroes that shows that young people can make a difference in the world. Watch Adele in the video below from a Kids Are Heroes event, where she speaks about her organization and how other young people can become change-makers in their communities:

KidsAreHeroes.com Presents Adele Taylor

Adele aims to motivate people of all ages to develop a passion for reading and show them that “regardless of where you come from, you can go anywhere in the world by reading a book.” This inspiring teen spoke to Dreamer ENT about how she got started and what she’s up to now – ALL for the love of reading.

Dreamer ENT: Tell us about you – how old are you and what grade are you in, and a little bit of your background?

Adele Taylor: I am a 14-year-old freshman [will be entering 10th grade in the upcoming year]. I am the oldest of three; I have a younger brother and sister. I enjoy rock climbing, roller skating, ice skating, hanging out with my friends, dancing and of course reading.

DE: When and why did you start Adele’s Literacy Library? What sparked the idea and what did you do to get started?

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I’ve added some new items to my Envibrance Dream Creations Store. Click on a name below to see the item:

I recently sold a copy of this Sweet Dreams Cupcake Cloud Poster (pictured below in the center) featuring tasty cupcakes suspending from a polka-dotted sky. The poster reads: “Dare to live the dreams in your heart; they’ll make the world a sweeter place.”

I’m also starting a line for girls called “Little Dreamer,” to inspire them to dream big (see a sample shirt pictured above and below). You can click here and here to see the first two shirts.

Also featured in the store is this Dreamer t-shirt and tote bag for women and the “Profit a Man” t-shirt for men.

In honor of Women’s History Month, here’s a tribute for women everywhere – “Every Woman.” (The poem and graphics below were part of a project I created for a Women’s History Month celebration I had the opportunity to chair at the University of Miami.)

The last two stanzas were added in 2012 and inspired by my friend Kara Norman, founder of Empower Her, Inc. She is truly making a mark by inspiring girls and women through her work: http://www.empowerherinc.com.

Every Woman

by Julene Fleurmond

Every woman should learn
To look past her imperfections
To nurture the essence of her spirit
To embrace her own reflection.

Every woman should live
Never compromising herself
To dream dreams that are impossible
To know when to ask for help.

Every woman should know
That within her are the seeds of greatness,
That she is loved by a Love even greater
And that she is too blessed to stress.

Every woman should believe
That she is divine royalty
Placed on this earth to leave a mark,
To share her heart and write history.

Every woman should walk
In purpose, grace and confidence
Because she has the power to impact the world
And change begins with a single step.

Throughout the years I’ve found that my passion in design is in creating projects for special events, gifts and designing apparel. I’ve loved being able to design materials like invitations and mementos for my friends’ weddings, baby showers, birthdays, college events and other occasions, so I’ve decided to specialize the design portion of my business Envibrance in these along with creating a line of inspiring t-shirts and products. I’ll still be doing other types of design projects on the side but for now will focus on these areas.

If you know anyone who needs freelancing for their next event feel free to send them my way. I’ve also opened a store, Envibrance Dream Creations, selling some of my designs. Stay tuned for more designs from the store and more information. (I came up with the name Dream Creations in 2003 when I started a handmade greeting card company in high school, I guess I always knew deep down I’d be doing this again).

In the past few years I’ve done several projects for Black History Month events and specials for different organizations. Here are a few of my favorites:

YBS Black History Makers

A few years back I designed a Black History Month project for a youth website YoungBlackStarz.org, to inspire young people to learn about great figures in history as well as young people today in entertainment who are making positive strides.

Here are some of the interviews we did with the teens and tween performers on the site:

Interview with Justin Martin (Actor, “A Raisin in the Sun”)

Interview with Rhyon Nicole Brown (Actress, “Lincoln Heights,”)

Interview with Chelsea Tavares (Singer, Actress, “Nickelodeon’s Just Jordan”)

Interview with Nickayla Tucker (Actress and Singer, “Law & Order SVU”)

Interview with Blake Hightower (Rapper, Actor, “Everyone Hates Chris”)

Interview with India Scandrick (Singer, Dancer, Actress, “Lion King on Broadway”)

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Woman With a Dream Ida B. Wells Barnett: Crusader of Freedom

Ida B. Wells Barnett was a journalist and pioneer of freedom in the 19th century. This project (click here to view) was actually the first website I ever created in high school for a multimedia contest that was aimed at chronicling the life of a leader in history. My two friends and I created the site to show the history of African Americans in America and how Ida B. Wells fought against injustice through the power of her pen. The site actually won first place in the competition and the opportunity allowed us to contribute to the National Urban League’s publication that following year.

“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”

– Ida B. Wells-Barnett, (1862-1931) Anti-lynching crusader, suffragist, women’s rights advocate, journalist, and speaker

During the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century in America, many injustices rang out in the hearts of African Americans. During this time of intense turmoil including lynching, discrimination, and violence, a passionate woman with a courageous and determined spirit rose up to battle the injustices in society. She led a national campaign against lynching that opened the eyes of the nation to the horrors taking place in a land that had supposedly guaranteed freedom for all citizens.

Through fiery articles, unwavering speeches, spirited marches, and compelling actions, this woman risked her own life to save the lives and freedoms of others. She was a woman with great hope that inspired her to take action to change history instead of passively letting events take their own course. Her name was Ida B. Wells-Barnett.