12/01/2025
Dear Supporters and Friends,
On the 250th anniversary of American independence, what could be more important than educating the coming generation to the gifts of democracy? With your help, by the end of this decade 10,000 students from coast to coast will study, stage and perform the SERIES’ newest one-act play, “The Founding,” and awaken to the core values that established our nation.
This coming year is also our 25th anniversary. And, like the American republic, our more modest history, with its own trials and triumphs, has also been sustained by certain ideals. Chief among them, civic virtue—what we once called citizenship—the responsibilities that come with community. That’s why we often sign these letters to you: “Together We Grow!’ It’s a call to join with one another in common cause, and a reminder that our personal fortunes actually depend upon the wellbeing of all. Just as Ben Franklin, with his wit and wisdom, quipped to fellow patriots on the eve of Revolution: “We must all hang together…or most assuredly we shall all hang separately!”
“The Founding” focuses on the framers struggle to create a bold, new form of government that put the common good of the People above self-interest or personal gain. What emerged—the American Constitution—while less than perfect, stands as a miracle of vision and compromise. We hope this third American History title in the SERIES will benefit from the 40,000+ hours of classroom instruction we have delivered over the years. We could not have done so without you! And as we prepare our young people to become engaged citizens, we want to thank you, in advance, for helping to revitalize civic education, civic trust and civic virtue with your generous support.
Together We Grow!
Leslie & Richard Strauss
Co-Directors, SPIRIT SERIES INC.
P.S. “The Founding” will become available to educators everywhere on July 4, 2026.
