Start With A Story Project - The Power of Reading Aloud To Children

Friday, June 27 2008 @ 04:39 PM EDT

Terry Brown reads to a little girl waiting to see a relative at Santa Rita Prison in Dublin, CA. "The ironic thing about this picture is that the cute little girl with me spoke Spanish and understood very little of what I read. We just enjoyed the story and the company."



Dan St. Paul reads to a group of attentive children. BookPALS recently partnered with the "Start With A Story" Project, an offshoot of the adult literacy efforts within the Alameda County jail system. One Saturday a month, BookPALS volunteer to read and give out FREE books to children waiting to see relatives.

Background: "Start With a Story" delivers story times, free books, and family literacy activities to children, ages 1-16 years old, who visit at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin." On average, 75-100 children per weekend are served. "Start with a Story" is an easy way to affect the lives of very appreciative children. Children are often relegated to many long hours - sometimes an entire day - of waiting at the jail for a brief visit to an incarcerated parent or guardian. The "Start with a Story" project offers these children a chance to escape inside a good book.

BookPALS
http://www.bookpals.net/content/article.php?story=20080627163923213