Donation to be used to purchase books to give kids and teens who complete Henderson Libraries’ summer reading program
HENDERSON, Nev. – Unilever, a company with local ties, has donated $1,000 to Henderson Libraries for its summer reading program. The donation will be used to purchase books to give away to children and teens who complete the program.
Unilever owns and operates a Good Humor/Breyer ice cream factory in Henderson.
“With all Clark County Schools being on a nine-month schedule this year, we anticipate even greater participation in our summer reading program,” said Tom Fay, executive director for Henderson Libraries. “Outside donations like this one from Unilever are critical to the program’s success as it continues to grow and our budgets continue to shrink. We appreciate Unilever’s support of this program and are happy to see that other community organizations recognize the importance of keeping children reading over the summer in an effort to prevent the ‘summer slide.’”
According to “The Learning Season: The Untapped Power of Summer to Advance Student Achievement,” a study conducted by Beth M. Miller, Ph.D. and commissioned by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, children who do not read during the summer often lose a portion of what they learned the previous school year, making it necessary for them to catch up during the first couple of months of the new school year. This compounds over time and adds up to a lag of two or more years in reading achievement during the elementary years.
Bridging the summer reading gap is even more important in Clark County this year, as the school district no longer offers year-round K-5 schooling.
In fact, it’s proven that children who participate in summer reading programs consistently perform at or above grade level, as opposed to children who don’t participate in summer reading programs. Summer reading programs help participants improve in reading comprehension, writing style, vocabulary, spelling and grammatical development.
All six of Henderson Libraries’ locations are taking part in the summer reading program, which has something to offer for all ages. This year’s theme is “Travel Around the World.” Each age group has a theme as well. Those are: “One World, Many Stories” (children), a geography-themed “You are Here” (teens) and “Novel Destinations” (adult).
‘ONE WORLD, MANY STORIES’ DETAILS:
While reading is rewarding all year long, children who participate in the summer reading program will receive prizes after reading for five, 10, 15 and 20 hours.
‘YOU ARE HERE’ DETAILS:
Teens who read for two hours each week will be entered into a weekly prize drawing. After teens read for 20 total hours, they will receive a book.
‘NOVEL DESTINATIONS’ DETAILS:
After registering online or in person at any of Henderson Libraries’ six locations, adults 18 and older can read and keep track of their progress online. This year adults will record the time they spend reading, rather than the number of books they’ve read. Any reading counts – reading traditional books as well as ebooks, listening to audiobooks, and even reading to your children. Each submission enters the participant into the weekly drawing at each branch, and non-winning entries are carried over to the following weeks. Prizes this year are donated by a variety of Nevada businesses including Egg Works, Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, the Eureka Casino Resort, Super Mex Restaurant and Cantina, and the Village Pub. The adult program will also include a writing contest and a photography contest.
The program will run from June 11 through Aug. 27. In response to participant feedback, this year’s program will last longer than previous years’ summer reading programs. For locations, visit www.mypubliclibrary.com.
Established in 1943 as a single library in Downtown Henderson, Henderson Libraries operates six locations throughout Henderson. Henderson Libraries cooperates with other public libraries in Southern Nevada, the Nevada System of Higher Education, the Clark County School District and all other libraries around the state to provide quality service for Nevada’s residents.
For more information or to sign up to participate in Henderson Libraries’ summer reading program, visit www.mypubliclibrary.com or call 702-492-6581.