|
March 26, 2007
WILL Gets Grant to Collect and Tell World War II Veterans’
Stories
WILL AM-FM-TV has been awarded a $10,000 grant to capture
the stories of central Illinois World War II veterans and
their families in conjunction with the broadcast of Ken
Burns’ "The War" on PBS in September. The station will use
the grant to collaborate with community groups to target
hundreds of individual stories to be shared locally on-air,
online and through community events and activities.
“Although much has already been written and produced about
World War II, our focus will be on storytelling. We’d like
to encourage people young and old to talk about what
happened in their families and communities during the war,”
said Mark Leonard, general manager of WILL.
WILL wants veterans and their families to contact the
station if they are interested in telling their World War II
stories and talking about their experiences both in the war
and at home. Contact WILL’s Mary Barrineau at 244-5080 or
barrinea@uiuc.edu.
WILL is one of 47 public broadcasting stations to receive a
$10,000 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
and WETA, the sponsoring station for The War. Another 69
stations received $3,000 grants.
WILL will use the grant to present 12 community screenings
of excerpts from The War and discussions throughout the WILL
coverage areas; produce TV, radio and Web content; train
volunteers to collect stories, and provide a DVD of local
WWII stories for teachers to use in the classroom.
The War, which premieres Sept. 23, is a seven-episode
series, directed and produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick.
It examines the myriad ways in which the Second World War
touched the lives of every family on every street in every
town in America.
By telling the stories of ordinary people in four
quintessentially American towns – Waterbury, Conn.; Mobile,
Ala.; Sacramento, Calif.; and the tiny farming town of
Luverne, Minn. – the series portrays this enormous worldwide
catastrophe on an intimate, human scale. The film honors and
celebrates the bravery, endurance and sacrifice of the
generation of Americans who lived through what will always
be known simply as “the war.”
"The War" will be accompanied by an extensive educational
initiative, reaching every public high school in the nation.
The initiative, which will assist teachers with World War II
curriculum for the spring of 2008, includes visual and
written materials. While working with national teaching
standards, the goal is to provide students with the tools to
go beyond the film to learn more about World War II and that
period in American history through an exploration of the
experiences of their family and community.
###
Contact:
Mary Barrineau
WILL AM-FM-TV
217-244-5080
barrinea@uiuc.edu
Back to Press Room
|
