Sept. 23, 2002 – If you or your group wants to help with the Education Department's various reading programs, Zoraida Jacobs will tell you how.
Jacobs, who is coordinating Education's 2002-2003 Reading Campaign, said, "The community can help by working with established programs or creating programs of their own."
The campaign expects to raise awareness on the importance and significance of reading.
The department will launch the campaign with a ceremony at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Curriculum Center.
Jacobs said the Education Department faces challenges in helping students learn to read, so community involvement is especially important. She also said there are a number of adults who can't read.
She warned that if the community doesn't get involved now by helping with the reading problem, it will face more serious problems later on.
"When kids graduate and they're not on their grade level or drop out of school, how do they generate a decent income?" she asked.
Jacobs said the help can take many forms, by serving as a volunteer or by contributing materials.
"If you give an hour here and there for a couple of months that will help," she said.
Jacobs said volunteers can also do things like read to patients at hospitals or help with the Education Department's Adult Literacy Program.
The Reading Campaign plans a Book Festival at Sunny Isle Shopping Center, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 12.
Jacobs said events will include storytelling in English and Spanish, books sales and swaps, and puppet making. While the event is targeted at children, shopping center bookstores are welcoming adults.
The Reading Campaign planned the event to coincide with the Library of Congress's Book Festival held on the same day in Washington, D.C., she said.
The Reading Campaign has also created a contest to pick the best logo and slogan for the campaign. It is open to all public and private school students on St. Croix.
To volunteer for the Reading Campaign, call Jacobs at 773-1095 ext. 245 or 248. To help an adult learn to read, call 773-1095 ext. 290.
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