Community Literacy
We empower rural towns to create a culture of literacy that encourages children and their families to have fun reading and writing on a daily basis.
CLiF provides select towns with $50,000 worth of children’s literacy activities, support, and free brand-new books for children from birth through sixth grade over three years.
A local advisory committee helps our program staff determine how to best use these resources to meet the needs of children and their families. The committee also works with schools, libraries, recreation departments, childcare centers, businesses, and other local organizations to develop additional support.
Our current Community Literacy partners for 2011-2014 are Stratford and Colebrook, NH, and Gilman/Lunenberg, VT.
Activities
We collaborate with each town’s local advisory board to implement 12-15 fun, enriching literacy activities each year for three years. Examples include:
- A kick-off event at the school with teachers, parents, and children
- Interactive storytelling presentations
- Author or illustrator visits
- Multi-day writing workshops
- Book giveaways
- Parent seminars
Each town also has the opportunity to create and carry out its own creative new ideas.
To Apply
A town must meet these requirements to apply for CLiF’s Community Literacy program:
- Be located in New Hampshire or Vermont
- Have fewer than 5,000 residents
- Have at least 30% of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch
- Have at least 25% of students in grades K-6 who score below proficient on NECAP reading and writing tests
- Involve as many town organizations and businesses as possible in fostering enthusiasm, collaboration, and community support
We are not currently accepting applications for this program.