Literacy education for children and adults is going digital and mobile over the next year through a grant from the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain and the Christine E. Moser Foundation.
The organizations have awarded $90,200 to the new Coalition to Enhance Family Literacy, a collaboration of family resource centers and public libraries in New Britain, Plainville and Southington and the Plainville Adult Education program.
The grant, which will be administered by the Literacy Volunteers of Central Connecticut, will encourage family literacy by working with families who may borrow from a total of 90 new e-readers, 30 at each of the three libraries, beginning in January.
“Kids who read succeed, regardless of the medium that’s used to inspire them,” said Southington Library & Museum Executive Director Susan Smayda. “While e-readers are the medium we will use for this program, the overall goal is to improve early childhood literacy, which is a barometer of life-long success, in our communities. Our target audience is low-income, low-literate families identified by local Family Resource Centers.
“Our goal is to teach both parents and young children how to read together on a daily basis to create a culture and practice of reading that will be sustained throughout their lifetime,” Smayda added.
The Community Foundation of Greater New Britain connects donors with causes that matter in Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington. The Christine E. Moser Foundation is a private foundation formed to support select projects and issues in which she was involved during her life. Moser was an educator and member of the state library board.
Family philanthropy program launched
Professionals at the Jewish Community Foundation and Jewish Federation in West Hartford have launched an initiative to advise families about articulating their Jewish values, engaging their next-generation children, establishing their legacy of giving and achieving their philanthropic goals.
Through a three-part series of interactive and experiential workshops, families will explore the underpinnings of their personal and familial values.
The Greater Hartford Jewish community was selected as one of 16 pilot communities to participate in the Jewish Federations of North America Multigenerational Family Philanthropy Training Program.
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Landscape sector gives back
The state’s nurseries, landscapers, and garden centers installed new landscaping for the courtyards of Manchester Community College as part of the annual PlantConnecticut program.
The project, organized each year by the Connecticut Nursery & Landscape Association, is designed to focus attention on the value of Connecticut-grown plants and encourage planting around the state, said Bob Heffernan, association executive director. Estimated value of the project will exceed $10,000.
A volunteer crew of about 15 nursery/landscape workers from up to a dozen companies from all over Connecticut installed hundreds of donated plants in 20 different varieties outside the college buildings. Coordinating the project was Bob St. Jacques, owner of Four Seasons Landscaping, Windsor.
The production of plants and flowers is Connecticut’s biggest agricultural segment at over $1 billion annually. The Connecticut Nursery & Landscape Association represents more than 400 companies in the business.
