About Us

Board Members

Alys Culhane, Executive Director Alys has a PhD in Composition and Rhetoric from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. You can see her website here: www.alysculhane.com

Bea Adler, President
Retired grant writer and nonprofit executive director.

Pete Praetorius, Secretary/Treasurer
PhD, Rhetoric and Technical Communication. Professor who teaches technical writing, grant writing, public speaking.

Robert Wallis
MA Psychology, mental health clinician.

Pam Huyck
Retired.

Diane Shibe
Retired high school English teacher of 30 years.

Volunteers

We are always looking for volunteers to assist with salvaging, sorting, categorizing, cleaning, and distributing books.

A Brief History of the Bright Lights Book Project

The Bright Lights Book Project (BLBP) began in December 2019 when Alys Culhane and Bill Schmidtkunz (owner of Matanuska Woodworks) started salvaging books at Valley Center for Recycling Solutions (VCRS), the Palmer Recycling Center. A small store was created in the basement at VCRS, but the number of books quickly overwhelmed the limited space, so BLBP volunteers approached Janet Kincaid, and she agreed to pay Bill to build bookcases for the Valley Hotel and the Koslosky Building, which her family owns. There are now 35 plus bookcases in the Mat-Su Valley that we routinely stock, and we also give away books at various events around Southcentral Alaska and have shipped books to several villages and correctional institutions. (Northern Air Cargo and other air cargo carriers have donated space to send books to villages.)

We so far have received 12 grants to carry out this project. We received two separate grants from the Palmer Community Foundation and Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union to buy lumber for the Mat-Su Career and Technical High School shop class to build bookcases for schools. Into these bookcases we place books that were given to us by the Mat-Su and Anchorage School District Warehouses.

The BLBP acquired 501(C)(3) status in March 2022. As of September 2022, nine volunteers were assisting in salvaging, sorting, categorizing, cleaning, and distributing books.

Check out BLBP on APRN @ 19:50

Check out BLBP on KNOM (Transcript of above story)

Check out the BLBP on Chanel 2

Check out the BLBP on KYUK

Bright Lights Book Project Non-Discrimination Policy

It is the policy and commitment of the Bright Lights Book Project to not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, religion, disability, weight, sex or gender (including pregnancy or gender expression), sexual orientation, education level, literacy competency, military or veteran status, genetic information, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, prior or current civil rights activity, or the intersection of these identities or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law, herein called “protected categories.”

Report Harassment
Any board member, volunteer, client, employee, free bookcase location, or any other person or entity affiliated with the Bright Lights Book Project who believes that he/she/they has been discriminated against is strongly encouraged to report this concern promptly to the BLBP Executive Director or a BLBP Board Member.

Discriminatory Harassment
Harassment or intimidation of anyone within the organization or the public because of that person’s identification with any of the above listed protected categories is specifically prohibited and may be grounds for separation from the organization. Harassment and intimidation include abusive, foul, or threatening language or behavior.

Equal Employment and Volunteer Opportunity
The Bright Lights Book Project is committed to a policy of equal employment and volunteer opportunity and does not discriminate in the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment on account of any of the above listed protected categories.

For more information, contact Alys at director@brightlightsbookproject.org
or 13329 E Oceanview Rd, Palmer, AK 99645