BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — For seven years, ABC23 has partnered with community organizations and the Scripps Howard Fund to promote literacy among children in our community with the If You Give a Child a Book campaign.
Executive Director of the Kern Literacy Council Laura Lollar Wolfe says reading just a few minutes a day can make all the difference in a child's life, especially before they turn three.
"We try to start as young as possible, and even in the womb we want parents reading with their kids," said Wolfe. "Books in the home or number of minutes read are two indicators of school success."
The literacy campaign provides books to children and families year-round through partnerships with education agencies like the Kern Literacy Council.
"It seems like such a small thing. 'Oh, everybody has books.' Everybody doesn't, especially in Kern County," said Wolfe. "If You Give a Child a Book has been one of the centerpieces of our programs."
The Kern Literacy Council works to empower parents and young readers so when students head to class, they're set up to succeed.
"By the end of the third grade, another big marker, kids go from learning to read to reading to learn," said Wolfe. "For history, to math, to science, [students] have a 25 percent increased chance of dropping out of high school if they don't meet that milestone."
Wolfe also says the Literacy Council is striving to reach all readers with a push for diversity and inclusion, trying specifically to get books out to the Black and Hispanic communities with books by, for and about members of those communities.
If you would like to join the Scripps Howard Fund, the Kern Literacy Council, and 23ABC in the push for childhood literacy, you can get involved by visiting the Scripps Howard Fund Childhood Literacy website.
