The Connecticut Education Foundation (CEF) recently held its annual Read Across Connecticut Book Drive at Blue Back Square in West Hartford. For the third year in a row, CEF has successfully gathered thousands of new and used books to be distributed across Little Free Libraries and classroom libraries throughout Connecticut.
“Reading is not just a fundamental part of learning, but a way to unlock a child’s imagination and curiosity,” said Joslyn DeLancey, CEA vice president and president of CEA’s charitable arm, CEF. “The Read Across Connecticut book drive is a fun and engaging way for members, community partners, and the general public to join us in promoting literacy and lifelong learning.”
Along with the book drive, CEF provided families with tons of entertainment including a story hour, crafts, games, music, giveaways, and a face painter.
West Hartford parent Amanda Smith brought her children to story time, stumbling upon the book drive.
CEA Vice-President and CEF President Joslyn DeLancey reads to children during a story hour inside Barnes and Noble.
“We come to readings at Barnes and Noble almost every week and this was such a great surprise to happen upon,” said Smith. “After hearing The Lorax during story time, we grabbed a few of our favorite books to donate.”
Catherine Stoddard dropped off over a hundred books, having gone through the books her children had outgrown.
“My two kids have always been veracious readers, so their bookshelves are stacked,” said Stoddard. “As they get older now, we realized there would be so many other kids who may enjoy these books. We had such a great time reading many of these series with them, I hope another family gets to do the same.”
Partners in the endeavor include Blue Back Square and iHeartMedia in Connecticut, with DJ Amanda Jo from Country 92.5 joining the event as a guest reader.
“iHeartMedia has been partnering with CEF for several years to bring the joy of reading to students across the state so they can have books of their own to pick up and read, and let their imaginations soar,” said Allison Demers, Community Access Director for iHeartMedia in Connecticut. “We enjoy working with CEF and Blue Back Square and engaging with children to make reading a fun and interactive experience.”
Amanda Jo from Country 92.5 joined in the fun, even being a guest reader during story hour.
“Blue Back Square is proud to partner with the CEF and iHeart Communities on this initiative to collect books for our local schools and gather the community for a fun event,” said Elizabeth Zigmont, spokesperson for Blue Back Square.
“We want to thank all the partners that have helped put this initiative together this year and will help make it an immersive experience for students and educators,” said DeLancey. “Our goal in all of this is to instill a love of reading in children, create pathways for education, and break barriers surrounding literacy.”
The books collected will be used to keep the Little Free Library outside of CEA headquarters stocked as well as be given to classroom teachers to grow their own libraries.
Along with the book drive, CEF has created a comprehensive Read Across Connecticut campaign centered around the theme “Reading is a Llama Fun. This includes printable resources for all grade levels to help educators plan for the week including crafts, games, reading logs, certificates, and more.
The foundation also asked some familiar Connecticut faces why they think “reading is a llama fun” and has posted content throughout the week on the Read Across Connecticut website and their social channels. Governor Ned Lamont, UConn Head Coach Dan Hurley, Attorney General William Tong, Treasurer Erick Russell, Comptroller Sean Scanlon, The Hartford Yard Goats, The Hartford Athletic, UConn Mascot Jonathan the Husky, several animals from Action Wildlife Foundation, and others have made an appearance in the videos throughout the week.
A contest is currently being held, open to all Connecticut public school classrooms, offering a chance to win one of four $500 classroom libraries. Educators can submit photos of their class showing how they made reading a llama fun during Read Across Connecticut week now through March 20 for a chance to win. To enter visit readacrossct.org.
