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| Literacy Program Cuts Release |
| Thursday, August 28, 2003 3:50:28 PM - Middletown Ohio |
Free books for babies born at Middletown Regional Hospital will continue, at least for a few months longer. Notification of free books for older children, one to five years of age, will be temporarily suspended.
Due to lack of funds, the Let’s Read Together pre-school literacy program, will be curtailing services. Started in 2000, the program has been giving free books to all babies born at the hospital and then giving an annual birthday present book to each child registered in the program who lived within the boundaries of the Middletown City School District.
Let’s Read Together is a sub-committee of the School/Chamber Business Education Community Collaborative and had been attempting to help children come to kindergarten ready to learn to read through exposure to books at young ages. A part of the program was encouraging parents and caregivers to read to babies and young children.
Several months ago, in a prior money saving effort, the group shifted from mailing the gift books to a system of sending postcards notifying parents to bring the card and their birthday child to Middletown Public Library to pick up the free book. Response to the pick-up program has been disappointing with very few actually claiming their free books, according to Let’s Read Together committee members. Since the pick-up program was instituted in May, approximately 500 postcards were sent to children with birthdays but fewer than 75 have been claimed.
Since funding remains difficult, the committee has decided to use their remaining dollars to purchase as many books as possible to be given directly to new mothers at Middletown Regional Hospital. If additional funding is provided, the postcard notification system will be resumed. The committee has several books on hand for the age 1 to 5 children, certainly enough to give to children who have already received the birthday postcard. If parents wish to redeem the postcards they have already received, they should visit the public library and present the card to any children’s librarian.
For information, contact Let’s Read Together, c/o Middletown City Schools Department of Instruction, 1515 Girard Ave, Middletown, OH 45044, or by calling 420-4656 or email to letsreadtogether@middletowncityschools.com.
Learn to Read – Zero to nine
Read to Learn – Your whole lifetime.
Story Submitted by Ann Mort. |
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