Community Literacy Center: SpeakOut

Community Literacy Center: SpeakOut These programs include the SpeakOut!

For several years, our commitments to contributing to adult and family literacy efforts in the Fort Collins area were via literacy research and action collective. In June 2005, we were able to realize our vision of a permanent and tangible resource center through a physical office provided by the CSU English Department

Since then, we've developed creative and expository writing workshops with bot

h youth and adult writers across the Fort Collins community. Writing Workshop for at-risk youth and incarcerated men and women; the Intergenerational Storytelling Project, which serves relative caregivers and their families; and Partnership for Literacy Success, which assists ESL and adult language learners. Our community outreach work has also included contributing to the revival of the community-wide Literacy Network of Larimer County. Our work with the Literacy Network has resulted in quarterly meetings for literacy workers across Larimer County as well as a new Network website committed to improving communication across agencies and service providers.

For 20 years, the Community Literacy Center has been shaped by the guiding belief that every person carries stories wort...
05/29/2026

For 20 years, the Community Literacy Center has been shaped by the guiding belief that every person carries stories worth telling and worth sharing. We have written across differences, gathered across ages and languages, and made space for voices too often pushed to the margins.

Like all meaningful creative and activist work, community literacy evolves through periods of growth and reinvention. We are currently cocooning while we consider future possibilities for this work.

While this site may grow quieter for a time, the work of community storytelling, literacy, and connection continues wherever people gather to listen deeply and speak honestly.

Please contact Dr. Tobi Jacobi at [email protected] for more information or with questions about access to archived copies of the SpeakOut! Journal. Visit https://speakoutclc.wordpress.com/journals/ for electronic access.

Our Spring 2026 Story Exchange Wall collaborations with youth studying Japanese Incarceration and with the CSU Center fo...
04/16/2026

Our Spring 2026 Story Exchange Wall collaborations with youth studying Japanese Incarceration and with the CSU Center for Public Deliberation's "Civic Saturday" conversation.

Just announced!Operating at sites of crisis, the SpeakOut! initiative's community writing workshops have offered people ...
02/05/2026

Just announced!

Operating at sites of crisis, the SpeakOut! initiative's community writing workshops have offered people experiencing difficult times and going through recovery a creative outlet since 2005.

To highlight the program's impact, 20 Years of SpeakOut!: A Community Writing Retrospective features words and artwork that crisscross human experiences with expressions of love, loss, challenge, hope, and curiosity, reflecting the creative prowess of hundreds of writers and artists from the community.

20 Years of SpeakOut! is curated by Tobi Jacobi, Mary Ellen Sanger, and students from the CSU Community Literacy Center.

In our Hall Gallery February 6 - May 23, 2026!

Celebrating 20 Years of SpeakOut!: A Community Writing RetrospectiveFEBRUARY 6 – MAY 23, 2026Operating at sites of crisi...
02/05/2026

Celebrating 20 Years of SpeakOut!: A Community Writing Retrospective

FEBRUARY 6 – MAY 23, 2026

Operating at sites of crisis, the SpeakOut! initiative’s community writing workshops have offered people experiencing difficult times and going through recovery a creative outlet since 2005. To highlight the program’s impact, 20 Years of SpeakOut!: A Community Writing Retrospective features words and artwork that crisscross human experiences with expressions of love, loss, challenge, hope, and curiosity, reflecting the creative prowess of hundreds of writers and artists from the community.

20 Years of SpeakOut! is curated by Tobi Jacobi, Mary Ellen Sanger, and students from the CSU Community Literacy Center.

https://globalvillagemuseum.org/explore/current-exhibitions/

The CLC won the "Outstanding Community University Partnership" award at the Conference on Community Writing 2025. And M...
11/18/2025

The CLC won the "Outstanding Community University Partnership" award at the Conference on Community Writing 2025. And Maddy and I gave a presentation on the story exchange walls project.

The CLC collaborated with CSU History's History Harvest by providing a story wall for community ideas at a recent celebr...
11/13/2025

The CLC collaborated with CSU History's History Harvest by providing a story wall for community ideas at a recent celebration.

"The most important aspect is creating a true sense of belonging and community, Jacobi said. Each participant is asked t...
09/04/2025

"The most important aspect is creating a true sense of belonging and community, Jacobi said. Each participant is asked to engage with themselves and one another to work toward the creation of something both beautiful and vital for growth and connection. Education and literacy become tools used to inspire and heal rather than to further inequity and injustice."



Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct an inaccurate statement of the Community Literacy Center having 10-15 student interns. Nestled in Colorado State University’s Eddy Hall is the Community Literacy Center, an office and program focused on community advocacy and uplifting voices acro...

Detail from most recent SpeakOut! journal. Want one? Let us know.Want to get involved as a volunteer this fall? We train...
07/25/2025

Detail from most recent SpeakOut! journal. Want one? Let us know.

Want to get involved as a volunteer this fall? We train! We'd love to hear from you. See interviews with recent volunteers at: https://new.express.adobe.com/webpage/GIbWd1nguA6HT

Goes at least through May!
05/09/2025

Goes at least through May!

Engage with your community at drop-in writing workshops from SpeakOut! at CSU’s Community Literacy Center! ✍️ Explore prompts and share stories, experiences, and ideas through writing every Thursday from 11 AM to noon at Old Town Library. Browse this month's prompts via our online events calendar. 👇

https://loom.ly/DBfpNf4

Address

346A Eddy, Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO
80523

Opening Hours

6:30am - 8pm

Telephone

+19704917251

Website

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