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Clubs extol virtues of reading

“A is for America. … B is for the Birthday of this country of ours. … F is for the Freedom and the Flag we fly. … H is for Heroes. … I for Ideals. … V is for Valor!” These are among some patriotic ABCs shared recently with fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students in Birmingham, Alabama, by Lynne Cheney, wife of United States Vice-President Dick Cheney.

Lynne Cheney, wife of United States Vice-President Dick Cheney, reads to fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students participating in one of the many reading programs sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham, Alabama. Reading, by the numbers

Reading from America: A Patriotic Primer, one of three best-selling children’s books she has authored, Cheney led the students on an alphabetical trip through US history, with each letter of the alphabet representing people or ideas that shaped the direction of the nation. The book reading, staged by the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham to promote its focus on encouraging children to read, typifies the many reading programs the club supports throughout the year. Primary among them: Read Around the World.

“We are honored to have Mrs. Cheney in Birmingham to promote our reading initiative,” says William Anthony “Tony” Davis, 2005-06 club president. About 85 club members read to children three times a year, including during the time set aside for Read Around the World. The club also purchases three books apiece for each child read to.

Set for February 1 through March 3, Read Around the World is a time to celebrate the joys of reading. Thousands of Kiwanis-family clubs throughout the world—more than 1,200 in North America alone—stage special projects and fundraisers during the month, all geared toward cultivating a love for reading among children. And many are the ways clubs choose to mark the observance:

• In California, for example, the Goleta and Santa Barbara Kiwanis clubs work in partnership with the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education and the Gevirtz Research Center—both at the University of California-Santa Barbara—to collect donations of new and gently used books at designated drop-off points. During the month of March, the groups encourage the communities to drop off new and “gently used” book at several locations, including branches of Community West Bank, another sponsor of the event.

“We are grateful for the support we have received from community partners—local government, businesses, and organizations that have volunteered to serve as book donation sites,” notes Goleta Kiwanian Vishna A. Herrity, executive director of the research center. “Their involvement is critical to our goal of collecting more than 4,000 literature books that are distributed to deserving children and families in our community.

By increasing access to printed materials in the home, we hope that children will discover new adventures through reading and ultimately enhance their reading abilities.”

• In the Caribbean, the Kiwanis Club of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, donates picture and story books—as well as flashcards, reading comprehension guides, and other learning materials—to schools.

• In cooler climes, the Kiwanis Club of Rochester, Minnesota, participates in a program dubbed “Lunch Buddies.” The program provides students the opportunity to read with community volunteers on a weekly basis during the lunch hour, a time when, because of winter temperatures, it may be too cold for children to go outside.

• In Texas, the Wichita Falls Kiwanis club distributes books to children visiting the local library. The Texas House of Representatives recently passed a resolution honoring the club for “distributing free books to young Texans between the ages of 4 and 12 who were able to leave the library with smiles on their faces and a ticket to new and engaging worlds in their hands.”

If your club would like to plan and promote its own Read Around the World program, there are tons of resources available online, including media releases and other promotional materials, a list of books children can read, and public service announcements.