For many children, summer break means vacation with the families, summer camps and more fun stuff. But for many of the 15.3 million food-insecure children across American, no school sometimes means fewer meals. Equally important, the Institute of Museum and Library Science Services” reports most young people experience a slowdown in learning over the summer, but there is a dramatic gap when comparing children from low-income and middle-income families.
After a summer with little to know mental stimulation, many children return to school unprepared and unfocused. During, the school year both learn at the same rate. But when summer comes around, the middle-income children enjoy enriching activities like library summer reading programs. They advance their skills by one or two months, while the low-income children slide back, losing as much as three to four months of skills. This pattern repeats itself every summer. By fifth grade, there is a 2-to-3-year gap in reading comprehension skills. By ninth grade, the summer slide accounts for about two-thirds of the reading gap.
All things considered, Hope 1 Ministries, Inc. with the help of many volunteers will run a mobile summer reading camp for the purpose of creating a welcoming reading experience where the pleasure of reading is discovered with support of a reading mentor.
Summer Reading Camps are critical.
community- based thinking
Children in these “underserved” populations have little or no access to books over the summer. This severely diminishes the volume of reading they engage in and results in widening the achievement gap each year. Investing in ways to keep these children reading over summer break is crucial. Reaching out to underserved children or non-library users in our community to provide books and other print materials requires creative and non-traditional approaches; and this requires Hope 1 Ministries to transition from “building based” to “community-based” thinking.
Furthermore, community-based approaches involve strong partnerships with schools, childcare organizations and centers, social service agencies, and businesses. To provide books, lunches and prizes to children and families in the Tampa Bay Area. Outreach is the way to get books to those kids who can’t make it to the library on their own during the summer. We envision a community where underserved children and families have access to books and printed material that provides engaging, successful reading experiences.
PUTTING IN THE WORK
Our pledge is to become a part of the solution in helping to eradicate poverty in our world. We will collect and distribute books and printed materials to give-away for children and families to increase the volume of reading children engage in over the summer.
One day throughout the summer the volunteers and I will fill bags with oatmeal, fruit cups, cans of tuna and other goods that children can easily make on their own while their parents are at work. Each bag includes items for breakfast, lunches and snacks. Collect & distribute books and printed material for underserved children and families in the Tampa Bay area.
Mobile Summer Reading Camp:
- to increase children’s access to age-appropriate print materials:
- to help children and teens retain and enhance their reading skills over the summer
- to provide resources and motivation for student and their families to read for pleasure.
- to provide hands-on opportunities such as arts and crafts and more.
- to increase students’ reading skills through picture books, songs, poetry and story telling
Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it-. Marion Wright Edelman
Wish List
⦁ Children books and printed materials/ balance of board and picture books early chapter books and young adult books
⦁Educational books fiction and nonfiction for teens and adult
⦁Art supplies and crafts, board games, children’s toys and stuff animals
⦁Gifts and prizes for reading incentives
⦁ New and gently used book bags
⦁ Markers, pencils, pens and paper construction paper
⦁Food bags: oatmeal, fruit cups, cans of tuna, juice boxes, water, peanut butter, crackers, fruit snacks, breakfast bars, chips and cookies
hope14me.org 