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Link to Libraries brings kindergarten literacy program

Date: 11/22/2011



By Katelyn Gendron

Assistant Managing Editor

HOLYOKE — On Nov. 17, Link to Libraries Co-founders Susan Jaye-Kaplan and Janet Crimmins met with students at Lt. Clayre P. Sullivan Elementary School’s library for the kick-off of Welcome to Kindergarten Read Together.

The organization’s donation of literacy bags to the school will encourage parents and their children to take time to read together, which will also aid Holyoke Public Schools in achieving its goal of 85 percent literacy, Kaplan explained.

“This is a milestone for the Early Childhood Literacy Taskforce,” Mary Curro, chair of the taskforce, said of the donation. “We need to get kids reading proficiently so that they may succeed [in life]. They say it takes a village to raise a child, well, it takes a community to build a reader.”

School Superintendent David Dupont added, “A book is the best gift you can receive. To receive this gift from Link to Libraries is an honor.”

Several parents also attended the kick-off event with their children, including Maria Toro, mother of kindergartener Luz Revera.

“We read in both Spanish and English. We like reading together because it helps develop the brain so she can grow up smarter,” Toro said as Revera sat reading her new book.

Kaplan emphasized that the donations would not stop here, noting that volunteers are working with several local businesses and organizations to bring books to children all over the Pioneer Valley.

To learn how to become a sponsor of Link to Libraries or to organize a book drive, visit http://linktolibraries.org or call 224-1031.



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