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The Celebrate Summer with Books program returns to encourage children to continue their reading habits. Morgan Hill Life and BookSmart are teaming up again to bring books to kids so they will keep reading through the summer to avoid the dreaded “summer slump.”
Last year’s “Celebrate Summer Books for Kids!” pilot program worked well in getting books into the hands of students to encourage them to keep up their reading during the two-month break from school. The program returns to encourage residents to donate money to purchase books for students in seven classrooms at P.A. Walsh STEAM Academy. Each class needs about $250 to purchase fun and good-quality books. Tax-deductible checks or cash or credit card donations can be made to the local bookstore’s nonprofit organization’s BookSmart Community Foundation/Morgan Hill Community Foundation.
The program provides at-risk students with good-quality books as an end-of-the-school year gift to encourage students to find the joy of reading for pleasure — and grow into life-long learners. It also gives the community an easy and affordable way to help increase literacy among young minds.
BookSmart is a community-benefit business that helps teachers, parents and students have access to good quality material, said Brad Jones, a co-owner with his wife, Cinda Meister, of the local independent bookstore.
“We believe education and reading are the foundation for life,” he said. “Education and reading are very important and of course near and dear to our hearts.”
The summer slump is serious because it can cause students to lose momentum in their academic learning, Jones said.
“We absolutely want to help address it and we want kids to know reading can be fun and it’s not just something you have to do in school,” he said. “When kids use their imagination, they learn they’re not just consumers, but they can also produce and create their own world through writing.”
“Books are marvelous,” said P.A. Walsh Principal Teresa Sermersheim. “It’s almost like you can crawl inside them. You can go on adventures. You can absorb the facts while you hear that satisfying turn of the page. When one discovers the joys and wonder of books their life is forever changed. What a dream it is to know that Walsh students are part of the book scene because of the support of the Morgan Hill community.”
Potential donors can call Cinda Meister at BookSmart at (408) 778-6467 or email [email protected] for details.
