- C. Richard Smith
- Posted On
Celebrating the gift of literacy
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Literacy Task Force celebrated its third anniversary at the Lake County Office of Education this past Tuesday, Nov. 5.
The task force has a vision that everyone in the county – young, adults and elders – not only be able to read, but desire to read.
It supports four literacy programs in the county.
The Big Read, which took place in October, promotes adult literacy through focusing on an author and novel.
Lake County Reads is a program supported by service clubs that purchases books for elementary school libraries and has a service club member read the book at the school.
Schools of Hope is a joint program of the Lakeport Unified School District and the United Way that provides reading tutors for low readers in the primary grades.
The primary focus of the celebration was the fourth program of the task force, Imagination Library.
This program offers the literacy program sponsored by the Dolly Parton Foundation to very young children in Lake County.
For $25 per year a child, from newborn to age 5, receives one age-appropriate book each month through the mail.
The purpose of the program is to prepare every child for kindergarten by having the child become familiar with books.
Research shows that a child that is read to in infancy becomes a better reader in school. Moreover, the child is more likely to become a life long reader.
A parent could not purchase half of these books for the cost of the program. This past year Imagination Library has provided almost 1,200 books to children in our community.
According to Lake County Superintendent of Schools Wally Holbrook, the goal is “to put a book into the hands of every young child in the county.” Currently 18 percent of the preschool children in the county receive a book every month.
Imagination Library is sponsored by many organizations and individuals in the county. Both Sutter Lakeside Hospital and the St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake provide a subscription for one year for the first 100 or so babies born in their hospital.
The Habemotel Pomo tribe provides books to all babies born into their tribe. Other sponsors are the Lakeport Women’s Civic Club, Konocti Lionesses, Early Lakeport Lions Club and numerous individuals.
“This is a perfect program for Lake County because organizations can sponsor children that would not normally get books in the home, and families can sponsor their own children for much less than it would cost to buy the books themselves,” said Stephanie Wayment, the Lake County Office of Education manager of this program.
Wayment promotes Imagination Library as a way for parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts to give a Christmas, baby shower, or birthday gift to a young child that is not only very valuable, but keeps on giving throughout an entire year.
When signing up for the program, the Lake County Office of Education sends out a gift announcement to the parents of the child and can follow up with instruction to the parent on how to read to a young child. A month later the first book arrives in the mail, to the joy of the child.
If you want to give Imagination Library as a Christmas present or gift to a young child, contact Staphanie Wayment at 707-262-4163.
If you want to donate to this valuable program, and provide books to children that might not otherwise get them, it is tax-deductible and can be made to the Lake County Office of Education at 707-262-4100.