The Great Falls Public Library kicked off its 36th Annual Children's Book-A-Thon with a special premiere, featuring the creativity of Great Falls High School students.
"The Book-A-Thon is the library's annual fundraiser for children's books," students Beau and Calissa said, emphasizing the importance of having children's books in our library so that children can enjoy learning and practicing reading.
Quentin Shores reports - watch the video here:
To generate awareness for the fundraiser, the library once again collaborated with GFH's video production class, led by Kelly Wiles, which has been creating Book-A-Thon PSAs since 2019. Students spent approximately a month arranging shots, writing scripts, filming, and editing their 30-second spot.
“We plan the shots, and we write the script and film it and then edit it and give it to the library foundation, and they put it on TV,” the students explained.
This year, the class submitted their idea directly to members of the Great Falls Public Library Foundation, who reviewed the storyboards and themes before granting approval.
"So myself and a couple of our board members come into their classroom, and they pitch us their idea," Brianne Laurin, Executive Director of the Foundation, remarked, "Then we said, go ahead, let's do it."
The collaboration is not only innovative but also effective. Every year, the Book-A-Thon raises money to buy more than 2,000 children’s books for the charity.
For the students, it is also an opportunity to gain real-world production experience.
“It's such a cool and unique way to be a part of our community… not a lot of people can say that they've made an ad that can be on TV,” high school senior Calissa added.
"It took a lot of storyboarding and brainstorming since we didn't want to create a dull ad. "We want to make something a little fun," high school junior Beau stated.
Their efforts paid off. The PSA was shown on the big screen inside the GFHS auditorium to tremendous acclaim from parents, families, and faculty.
Viewers can expect to see the student-produced advertisement on TV this week.
