It’s hard to believe that it’s autumn already! Over the course of the summer, CLiF presenters visited more than 2,600 children in Vermont and New Hampshire as part of our Summer Readers program. That’s a 24 percent increase over last summer!
Every year, CLiF seeks out day camps, summer lunch programs, and other sites that serve low-income, at-risk, and rural children when school is out of session. The goal of Summer Readers is to energize kids to read outside of school and prevent a lull or even a “summer slide” in reading comprehension during school vacation.
Each Summer Readers event provides a fun, interactive storytelling presentation and the opportunity for a child to choose two new books to take home and keep.
After an event at the municipal pool in Barre, VT, recreation director Stephanie Quantara said, “The program was fantastic and very well received by the children. I have seen more books coming to the pool … It is now becoming ‘cool’ to have a book and read!”
Debbi Lambert of Canaan, VT, echoed this sentiment, adding, “I was touched by the number of students who brought their new books to camp the following days and read at every spare moment they could … We even had to tell one student to put it down while walking across the street!”
For more information about CLiF’s Summer Readers program or to recommend a site for next summer, please contact Julia at julia@clifonline.org or 802-244-0944.
