CINCINNATI — Call them windows, mirrors or portals — books have the ability transport and transform.
That is especially true for our young students, who with your help this week will be able to enrich their lives and their libraries at home.
Dawn Bailey is the principal at Lincoln Heights Elementary school and she said the “If You Give A Child A Book” campaign is important for multiple reasons.
“We don't have a public library close to us, the closest one I believe, is in Wyoming. So, our children don't go to a public library. They don't experience a library," Bailey said. "They check out books from our school library but there's a timeline, they have to turn them back in."
Bailey said there's also no bookstore in the village of Lincoln Heights or nearby, which limits children.
"We're giving them an opportunity to actually have books in their home," Bailey said. "Books that they can read. Ones they can read 1,000 times."
Bailey said the Scholastic Book Fairs they can hold because of donations have helped leveled the playing field.
"In the past, when kids had to play at traditional books fairs, somebody in this seat might have $20 and get a couple of books, somebody over here might have $3," Bailey said. "And they ended up buying little trinkets, which are cute, and they're great, but they're just not the same."
Now, every child is able to receive the same number of books.
"We want them to choose books that are interesting to them," Bailey said. "Not books that are on the required reading lost. We want them to be excited. Scholastic does a great job too of making sure many of the characters are realistic. The characters look like our children."
Meredith Delaney, director philanthropic strategies for the Scripps Howard Fund, said bringing books to book fairs at Title I schools allows for kids to reflect on their personalities and what book they're picking out.
"Books can serve as a mirror," Delaney said. "Kids can see themselves in the books that they're reading, or books can serve as a window, and you can travel to new places and be exposed to new things," Delaney said.
Delaney also said the number of books that a child has within their home is directly correlated to how successful they'll be in school.
"And so, we want to make sure that kids are building their home libraries," Delaney said. "Our goal is to put 10 brand new books into the home of children in need, all across Greater Cincinnati.”
If you're interested in donating to the Scripps Howard Fund's "If You Give A Child A Book" campaign, click here. A donation of $30 equates to halfway of filling a child's home library.
Watch Live:
