Research shows that reading aloud is the single most important thing you can do to prepare a child for learning. In fact, a child’s vocabulary as early as age 3 can predict third grade reading achievement. Children who read proficiently by the end of third grade are more likely to graduate from high school and become economically successful in adulthood.
Yet, 61% of low income children have no children’s books at home. By age 2, poor children are already behind their peers in listening, counting and other skills essential to learning. By age 5, a typical middle class child recognizes 22 letters of the alphabet compared to 9 for a child from a low income family.
We want to close that gap for children in our community. Our goal is to raise $1,500 so that we can provide 1,500 books to low income families here in Brevard. We can do this with your help! A donation of any size will help give kids the gift of reading.
The week of December 2, we will be featuring various community, business and civic leaders this week who will share a bit about the importance of books in their lives as a way to highlight the importance of reading.
You can help now. Click here to donate!