Oliver: Grant to team library, Turning Point
I learned the power of reading at an early age.
When my mother would read to my brother and me, I also discovered the magic of books to transport readers (and listeners) to faraway places.
Sharing the joy of reading is one of the most powerful gifts we can give children.
Our area libraries already do a great job of promoting literacy. The Woodstock Public Library now will have a chance to reach out into the community to do even more.
The library recently received a grant from the Target Corp. to partner with Turning Point, a Woodstock-based agency that helps those affected by domestic violence.
Circulation desk assistant Carrie Zamorano and reference librarian Trudie Dreyer wrote the grant, which they learned about from state Rep. Jack Franks.
With the $3,000 grant, the library will buy books and materials that deal with domestic violence. More than half of those materials will be housed at Turning Point.
Besides books, there will be videos, games and therapy dolls for children who are staying in Turning Point’s shelter. The collection also will include items for older children, such as music CDs and an anti-bullying game.
The grant also will buy a variety of resources to teach adults how to deal with stress, learn about conflict resolution, and develop those skills in their children, too.
“It’s all across the gamut,” Zamorano said, “from early children through adult.”
Library employees will conduct monthly story times at Turning Point to engage the children and help ignite in them a love of reading.
Turning Point Executive Director Jane Farmer said the program will help mothers and children forge stronger bonds.
“Our moms have struggled so much, that it’s hard for them to know what to do with their children,” Farmer said. “This will teach them how invaluable reading to children can be.”
The sessions should be entertaining, too, Zamorano said. Parents and children also will do simple craft projects together.
“We just want it to be fun,” she said. “It’s an opportunity for parents and children to connect over books.”
Amid the fun will be useful lessons, too. The books are a good way to teach children appropriate behavior or about healthy family life “without it being an over-messaged thing,” Zamorano said.
Farmer said Turning Point will help library employees learn about domestic violence and how to better serve patrons who might be dealing with it.
The grant runs through March 2010, but the plan is to keep the program going, Zamorano said.
That sounds like a winning combination. The library offers invaluable resources to help adults enrich and improve their lives.
And when children learn about the joys of reading, the benefits really can last a lifetime.
• Joan Oliver is a community editor for the Northwest Herald. She can be reached at 815-526-4552 or by e-mail at joliver@nwherald.com.
