LITERACY INITIATIVE

Kiwanis Club of  Sun City Georgetown

November 2007

On November 1^st Club members distributed our 10,000^th book, at Annie Purl Elementary School.  Purl is a large school with 43 classrooms of children in grades Pre-K through Second.  It was quite a sight to see the Kiwanians buzzing around the schools, looking for their classrooms to read and distribute the books to the children.  They had maps and monitors to direct us through the twists and turns of the hallways.

The school staff arranged coffee and doughnuts for the 18 Kiwanians who were there to deliver 750 books.  The Art teacher worked with the students to create a ten-foot poster to thank us for our efforts, which featured book spines on which the children wrote their names.  Principal Brian Dawson spoke to the group and presented a Thank You plaque to our Club.  Acting Superintendent of Schools, George Garver, was there, congratulating us on our efforts.

The project began in the Fall of 2005.  Last year we spent 35% of the $41,000 we raised on our Literacy Initiative, making it our largest service project.  It fits right in with our Kiwanis International motto, “A global organization dedicated to changing the world, one child and one community at a time”.  Based upon the recommendations of the Reading/Literacy specialists on the GISD staff, we deliver two books per child per year to the students in the lower grades in Title I schools in Georgetown.  These are the formative years for developing and building reading skills. 

Research demonstrates that having access to a wide variety of reading materials is essential if a child is to grow and develop into a strong reader. The majority of children from low-income families have no books at all in their homes or classrooms, and as a result, direct access to books is extremely limited for these children. 

• A recent study (included in the Handbook of Early Literacy Research, Vol. 2 edited by Susan Neuman and David Dickinson) shows that while in middle income neighborhoods the ratio of books per child is 13 to 1, in low-income neighborhoods, the ratio is 1 age-appropriate book for every 300 children.

• Children from low-income families have been exposed to an average of only 25 hours of one-on-one reading time compared to an average of 1,000 to 1,700 hours for children from middle-class families.

• Students who do more reading at home are better readers and have higher math scores.

We are in the process of selecting book titles for our next distribution which will begin in late January and early February.  We work with Librarians in the schools to choose the books we give to the children.  The hardworking committee members include ‘pickers’ who store the books in their garage and pack them up in plastic bags for each classroom (Don Siler, Jack Akin, Paul Golay and Pat McCaslin), schedulers who sign up volunteers to read (Sharon Perdue, Pat Harron and Beth Winship) and Geoff Martin, who finalizes the master schedule, and sends out reminder emails to the volunteers.  Martha Lawlor is the committee chair, and is the liaison with the school system for arranging dates and selecting titles.

January 2007

‘BOOKS FOR BABIES’ KITS DELIVERED TO GEORGETOWN CIRCLE OF CARE PEDIATRICS CENTER

Recently we delivered 400 Books for Babies kits to the Georgetown Circle of Care Pediatric Center.  The kits will be distributed to parents of newborns at the two week check-up appointment.  The Clinic averages one birth per day. 

Four of our members visited the Clinic to make the presentation, including photographer Bill Harron.  Betty Darling, Literacy Committee member, Kent Buikema, Foundation President, and Neil Daly, Club President presented the kits to Dr. Natacha Pankratz , Associate Medical Director and Pediatrician at the  GT Circle of Care Pediatric Center, and Linda Wasson, a nurse at the Pediatric Center.

Our members also had an opportunity to present a Books for Babies kit to new parents, Chad and Melissa Votruba, and new baby Mariah.

The Books for Babies kits are distributed by the Friends of the Libraries USA; it is a nationwide literacy program that acquaints parent of newborns with the important role that they play in the development of their children.  Literacy development begins at birth and is closely linked to a baby’s earliest experiences with books and stories.  Early literacy is the natural development of skills through the enjoyment of books, the importance of interactions between babies and parents, and the critical role of literacy-rich experiences. 

Published in English and Spanish, the kits include the board book Peek-A-Boo by Roberta Grobel Intrater, Baby’s first Library Card, Babies Love Books:  A guide for Grown-ups booklet, Barbara Bush’s Family Reading Tips brochure, a Bookmark with Reading Tips for Parents, The ABC’s for Developing Your Child’s Mind brochure, and Raising a Reader, Raising a Writer brochure.

Our Club also presented the Pediatrics Center with nearly 200 copies of a Sesame Street board book, which the staff will present to young visitors to the clinic.

This is the fourth year that the Sun City Kiwanis Club has delivered Books for Babies kits to the Clinic.  The project is part of their Literacy Initiative which has delivered free books to children in Title I schools in the GISD.

October 2006

On Thursday, Oct. 25^th eight Kiwanians swarmed into Carver Elementary school early in the morning to read to the little kids in Pre-K, First and Second grades.  An hour later they left, having presented a new book to 323 children to take home for their very own.  Our Club has budgeted $10,000 for purchasing books during this school year.  Our objective is to improve the literacy rate in economically deprived children in our community.  We work exclusively with the Title I schools in Georgetown.

This year we are again giving ‘The Adventures of Syd Hoff’, to the First graders, and a new title, ‘Dinosaurs After Dark’, to the Second graders.  The Pre-K children received ‘Cookie Rhyme, Cookie Time’.

We will return to deliver a second book to these children in late January or early February.  Here is the schedule for the fall delivery of books:

Nov. 2             Cooper Elementary      

Nov. 9             Annie Purl Elementary

Nov. 16           Jack Frost Elementary

We still need Kiwanians to read at Purl and Frost.  Please consider giving an hour of your time to this fun and rewarding project.  You’ll have a big smile on your face when you walk out the door of the school, guaranteed.  Ask your spouse or a friend to join you.  One person can read, the other can hold a copy of the book and show the pictures to the children.  Please call Pat Harron (864 0965) or Beth Winship (869 5950) if you would like to volunteer.

Thanks to these Kiwanians who delivered books at Carver school:

John Hopper

Gerry Lesseps

Randy Lesseps

Pat and Gene Cole

Joe Newman

Nancy Newman

Phyllis Vogel

Bob High

Thanks also go to Pat Harron and Beth Winship who do the scheduling, Betty Darling who sends out the information and schedules to the volunteers, Pat McCaslin and Don Siler who pack the books for delivery (Don is also our Inventory Manager), Barbara Picone and Joe Razek who are letting us store books in their garages, and Martha Lawlor, committee chair.

April 2006

LITERACY INITIATIVE DELIVERS 1700 BOOKS TO GEORGETOWN KIDS

Through March over 60 of our Club members have participated in our Literacy Initiative by delivering books to children in the GISD and the Head Start programs.  Focused on Title I schools which have the highest percentages of low income students, the Initiative hopes to improve literacy by placing books into the hands of children for them to take home.  We delivered books to four Georgetown schools in grades Pre-K, Kindergarten and First grades, and also to two Head Start programs. 

Our members really enjoyed spending a few minutes in the classroom reading to the small children,   who were glad to see us, and appreciated the free books to take to their homes.  The faculties of the schools were also appreciative of our efforts. 

We also delivered 375 Books for Babies kits in both English and Spanish to the Lone Star Circle of Care (formerly the Georgetown Community Clinic).  Clinic staffers present a kit to the parents of newborns at the infants’ two week check-up.  In addition to a board book, the kits contain information for the parents about the importance of reading to their children and a first library card.

Recently our Club received a $500 grant from First Book-Central Texas and Borders Bookstores.  The grant will be used to purchase books for children in  3^rd, 4^th and 5^th grades in the Title I schools in Georgetown.  The recipients will be selected by the school librarians using criteria such as most improved reader, or most books read.  They will be presented at year end assemblies.

Book deliveries will begin when school starts next Fall.  We hope that you’ll join us in this fun project!