Research shows that reading aloud to children for 15 minutes daily helps to increase their vocabularies and develop a love of reading. Unfortunately, many children in our community do not have regular access or exposure to age-appropriate books.

This is why organizations like Branford-based Read to Grow (RTG) exists—to help parents support their children’s education through books. RTG’s goal is to encourage parents to regularly share books, talk, and sing to their children so they can help them develop the language and literacy skills needed to learn to read.

Helping RTG meet their goal, the Branford Community Foundation (BCF) was thrilled to award them a $3,500 grant, which enabled them to purchase 1,000 copies of the book, “What Does It Mean to Be Kind.” RTG partnered with the Branford Early Childhood Collaborative (BECC), who will distribute the books to local children and families for their home libraries during BECC’s “One Book, One Town” literacy project, which will take place next month (April 2019) during the national Week of the Young Child.

In addition to this partnership, the grant enabled RTG to deliver an additional 2,868 children’s books to families and organizations in Branford, including to the East Shore District Health Department’s home visitor program, the Branford Counseling Center, the James Blackstone Memorial Library, the Branford Public Schools, and the Read to Grow Book Place. This represents an astounding 65% increase in the number of children’s books RTG provided to Branford children and families!

This grant achieved two of BCF’s favorite things: addressing a demonstrated need in our community and fostering collaborative efforts between multiple service organizations! It doesn’t get much better than that!

You can make a difference! To learn more about BCF, please call 203.444.4898 or donate today.