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Alys Culhane, Executive Director, has a PhD in Composition and Rhetoric from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. You can see her website here: www.alysculhane.com Pete Praetorius, President, has a PhD, Rhetoric and Technical Communication. He teaches technical writing, grant writing, public speaking, and communication courses at Mat-Su College. Kaitlyn Klippert, Vice-President, serves as the Director of Development, Marketing and Communications at Alaska Addiction Rehabilitation Services, Inc. Kailey Gamble, Secretary Vicky Kindseth is a registered nurse and case manager at Chickaloon Native Health Center. Bea Adler is a retired grant writer and nonprofit executive director. Pam Huyck is a retired business owner. VolunteersWe are always looking for volunteers to assist with salvaging, sorting, categorizing, cleaning, and distributing books. We can also use help with fundraising, assisting at events, and with literacy activities for children. |
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A Brief History of the Bright Lights Book ProjectThe Bright Lights Book Project (BLBP) is an Alaska-chartered nonprofit organization that received its 501(c)(3) federal tax-exempt nonprofit status as public charity in October 2021 (EIN: 87-3365439). The BLBP got its start in December 2019 when Executive Director Alys Culhane and Bill Schmidtkunz, the owner of Matanuska Woodworks, began salvaging books at Valley Center for Recycling Solutions (VCRS), a nonprofit recycling center in Palmer, Alaska. In time, Alys (with the help of the VCRS staff) set up a small bookstore. The number of books quickly overwhelmed the limited space, so Alys and Bill approached local business owner Janet Kincaid, who paid Bill to build bookcases for the Valley Hotel and the Koslosky Building. The surplus books from VCRS were placed on these bookcases. The public reception to this initial effort was favorable, so Alys and Bill began putting bookcases in other places. But it was also around this time that Alys became aware of Alaska’s low reading levels for 4th grade students (49th in the nation). So the focus of the project shifted from salvaging books to improving childhood literacy. By making free books accessible, children and their parents tell us that they are now reading more – and when parents read, they model reading to their children. Today, there are nearly 50 bookcases located throughout the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. These are routinely stocked and cared for by BLBP volunteers. BLBP Volunteers are now a mainstay at community events, and have provided homeless shelters, correctional institutions, schools, and social service organizations throughout the Matanuska-Susitna Borough with books. BLBP volunteers have also shipped several tons of books to villages, with the support of Northern Air Cargo and other Alaskan-based air cargo companies. In February 2021, BLBP relocated from VCRS to The Meeting House, a one-story residential house owned by the American Baptists. Here, BLBP volunteers cleaned, sorted, and stamped children’s books. Lois Liebing, a retired schoolteacher, assisted volunteers in cleaning and vetting these books and in determining who the audience for the various books might be. Other volunteers began assisting Alys and Bill in stocking the innumerable community-based bookcases. Alys once remarked that the bookcase conversations centered around book content. Hence, her belief that book related conversations are indicative of what she calls “a more broad-based definition of literacy.” The conversational circles expanded yet again, and soon included Pamer Senior Center members, Friday Fling patrons, Colony Days attendees, and Alaska State Fair goers. BLBP’s direct literacy activities included Children Read to Dogs, a Dr. Suess Day, and an H is for Hawk Day. Community outreach events included Storytimes at the Palmer Fire Station, the Tsunami Warning Center, the Palmer Muskox Farm, and the Mat-Su Borough Animal Shelter. The work of the Bright Lights Book Project continues to expand. In June of 2023, the BLBP moved to the former banquet room of the Eagle Hotel, in Palmer. This move has allowed the BLBP to expand its literacy efforts to include elementary school field trips to the Eagle Hotel where we had specific theme days. For example, on Dinosaur Day BLBP volunteers read dinosaur books, looked at the differing types of dinosaur books, and help kids to author their own books. In July 2026, the BLBP partnered with the Alaska Literacy Program. The focus of the 50 year-old program is on workplace literacy. They opted to move to the Mat-Su Valley to expand their efforts in this growing region, and for this reason they contacted us. We all foresaw that their focus on adult literacy complemented our focus on children’s literacy, so we expanded BLBP’s footprint at the Eagle Hotel so that there would be space for the ALP. See the BLBP VideosCheck out the State Fair video: https://f.io/Sy6bQKabCheck out BLBP on APRN @ 19:50Check out BLBP on KNOM (Transcript of above story)Check out the BLBP on Channel 2Check out the BLBP on Channel 2Check out the BLBP on KYUK
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