Our Story
Get Lit is a Los Angeles based arts education non-profit founded in 2006 by Diane Luby Lane to increase literacy, empower youth, and inspire communities through poetry. The inspiration for Get Lit began with a solo show that Diane toured with internationally celebrated poet and advocate Jimmy Santiago Baca in venues ranging from high schools and universities to prisons. Educators and youth responded with enthusiasm for poetry in their classrooms. Diane then developed a curriculum through which she saw the most reluctant youth, many on the brink of dropping out, transform into poets, leaders, and scholars.
To sustain this transformative work, Lane founded Get Lit - Words Ignite in 2006 as a project of Community Partners. In 2009, the organization incorporated as a 501(c)(3), and has experienced an increased demand for its services every year since.
Today, the curriculum has expanded from serving three schools to over 145 schools annually, representing an extremely broad range of school and community cultures throughout California and the global community. The Get Lit Media content studio puts the power into the hands of young filmmakers by giving them the tools needed to tell their stories, shift the narrative, and ultimately, the world.
WHY WE EXIST
The Literacy Crisis
WE ARE FAILING OUR CHILDREN.
We have a literacy crisis in our backyard.
The Stats
Nationally, more than 50% of students did not log in for regular instruction during COVID 19 in 2020.
The Stats
Half of LAUSD’s Class of 2019 are not eligible for California public universities.
The Stats
2/3 children do not meet the standards for reading proficiency set by the National Assessment of Educational Progress
The Stats
62% of low income students do not pursue college.
The Stats
Nationally, more than 50% of students do not pursue college
Hope
Get Lit helps provide the remedy.
Life-long Learners
98% of Get Lit Players go to college, and 70% get scholarships!
Increased Engagement
97% of teachers see a significant increase in attendance, engagement, and grades after learning through Get Lit's curriculum
50,000 Youth Reached
The Get Lit Players’ performances reach over 50,000 youth each year through performances and over 100 million people online!
Depression
America has an epidemic of loneliness, most pronounced for youth – 48.3%. Of whom feel “extremely lonely.” Rates of suicidal ideation are highest among youth, especially LGBTQ+ youth. People screening at risk for mental health conditions are struggling most with loneliness or isolation. From April to September 2020, among people who screened with moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety or depression, 70 percent reported that one of the top three things contributing to their mental health concerns was loneliness or isolation. The political landscape has caused echo chambers with a lack of meaningful conversations occurring between people of different ideologies.
The Classic Slam
Hundreds of youth from schools throughout the nation come to share poems and compete in the largest youth classic poetry slam in the world. In a time of COVID isolation, Get Lit brings young people together. Get Lit provides an inclusive online and/or in the school environment, where youth share poems, stories, and find community and acceptance.
Lack of Job Training & Professional Opportunities for Youth
(particularly youth from low income families)
Youth exclusion from jobs and training on the rise - Young people face an uncertain future in the labor market because of automation. The technical skills required for most sectors quickly become outdated owing to rapid changes in technology and the spread of automation. Young people need the skills to rapidly learn, adapt, practice resiliency, and take advantage of entrepreneurial mindsets, to respond to this reality.
With your support, we are making a difference. Contribute and become a Luminary.
Claim your poem. Claim your life.
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