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Legacy of Literacy

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Link to Libraries President and co-founder Susan Jaye-Kaplan reads to students at Square One in Springfield.

Photo courtesy of Links to Libraries

PRIME – September 2014

Link to Libraries volunteers help next generation discover power in the written word

By Debbie Gardner debbieg@thereminder.com The concept is a simple one – to foster an interest in reading in children who might not have the opportunity, encouragement or example at home. Since 2008 the non-profit organization Link to Libraries has fulfilled this mission by providing more than 235,000 new and gently used books to preschoolers, kindergarteners third graders and in certain instances, teens, at hundreds of different sites – from schools to Boys and Girls Clubs to emergency rooms to homeless shelters – throughout western and central Massachusetts, the Berkshires and parts of Connecticut. But for President and Co-Founder Susan Jaye-Kaplan of Longmeadow and her army of volunteers, Link to Libraries is more than just a way to get books into the hands of kids who might otherwise never own one. It’s a way to make a difference in the world, one story at a time. Dana Barrows, a 63-year old financial planner with Northwestern Mutual Life in Springfield, is one of those committed volunteers. Last year he “adopted” teacher Sara Bartolucci’s third grade class at Mittineague Elementary School, located a mile from his home in West Springfield. He’ll be returning to work with a new classroom of students this fall. “I read to her 28 third graders and I will tell you, I’ve been involved with a dozen non-profits over the years, been chairman of the board of five [and] this is the most fun, the most meaningful giving back to my community I’ve ever done in my life,” Barrows told PRIME. He described his typical volunteer day in this way: “I go to Mittineague about 9:25 a.m. on my day and I sign in. Sarah sends down one of her students to escort me upstairs to the classroom,” Barrows said. “I walk in and I get a standing ovation from 28 third graders who are respectful, polite, fully engaged and extremely well-behaved and generally thrilled that I am there. “ Barrows said he reads to the students standing up, walking around the classroom as he relates that session’s story. “My goal is to get as many of the 28 kids to participate [as possible],” he said, noting that they raise their hands to ask questions or make a comment about the story. “We have a hell of a good time for about 40 minutes,” he added. As a part of each read-aloud session, Barrows gives each student a book to take home. He also got permission from the school’s principal last year to bring in his made-from-scratch toll house cookies – baked at 6 a.m. that day – to share with the students. The students in turn, invited Barrows to their holiday musical, their field day, and shared the end results of a book-writing project with him. He sponsored a parent-student event, and has made contributions to the school library as part of Link to Libraries’ business support program. A year into his three-year commitment at Mittineague, Barrows said he very much understood why Bartolucci was interested in having a Link to Libraries volunteer working with her class. “She’s trying to reach students in school that have some challenges,” Barrows noted. “One of the things she wanted with her reader was someone who would be a positive role model and example for these children … for many of these kids that not be as prevalent in their lives as they would like.” And Barrows said he is grateful to his friend and client, Dennis Gagnon, owner of Excel Dryer and a member of the board of directors of Link to Libraries for suggesting he contact Kaplan and get involved with the program. Barrows said a desktop photo of Gagnon and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno – snapped when the pair had been celebrity readers for Links to Libraries – prompted him to ask his friend and client about the program. “He said, ‘Dana, this is something you should do’,” Barrows, who has two grown daughters and two granddaughters, one of whom was in the third grade this past year, recalled. “I’m his advisor but occasionally he will give me advice [and] I’m thrilled he did. It opened a whole new chapter in my life.” Malcolm Schneider, 73, a retired business owner from Longmeadow, said he found a similar connection to the students in the two third grades at Hiram L. Dorman Elementary School in East Springfield, where he became a volunteer reader last year at the request of Kaplan, who is a longtime friend. “You get brought into their world quickly,” Schneider said of the 48 students he read to in Kelley Menard and Amanda Mitchell’s classes this past year. “They don’t have very much, don’t speak very good English – there are a lot of Hispanic kids – and don’t get much help at home. They really look forward to the reading.” Through the Link to Libraries program, he gave each student books they could call their own during his every-other week visit this past school year, as well as the opportunity to ask questions and talk about reading with someone who had the time to care about what they have to say. Like many of his fellow Link to Libraries volunteers, Schneider said his time in the Dorman third grades has helped him recognize how lucky he was to have a supportive two-parent home and the advantage of a good education while he was growing up. He’s also come to appreciate how challenging the job of today’s educators can be. “The two teachers need the respite [when I read].” Schneider said. “They correct homework, look over their lessons or quiet kids that can’t sit still. It gives them a chance to relax for a few moments because it can be overwhelming.” Schneider said he has not only decided to return to Dorman as a Link to Libraries reader this school year, but also to make sure the school has some much-needed extras. “They don’t have enough iPads [for the third grades],” Schneider said, adding that one classroom has three, and the other just one of the devices. “There are really good teaching tools on the iPad.” To even out student access to technology, he’s purchasing four additional iPads for his adopted classrooms this year. Schneider said his work with Link to Libraries has reinforced his belief that “you have to give back in this world,” and that helping the students at Dorman is one way to do just that. “The truth is these kids need something … they need as much help as they can get,” he said. But not every volunteer role at Link to Libraries requires the kind of time and financial commitment that Barrows and Schneider demonstrate. Phyllis Walsh, 75, of Wilbraham, a former second grade teacher as Green Meadow School in Hampden, Massachusetts, reads every six weeks as part of the organization’s preschool reading program. She also helps out with book sorting and labeling at the organizations warehouse from time to time. The free readings for preschoolers and their parents take place at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday mornings during the school year in the food court of Eastfield Mall on Boston Road in Springfield, Massachusetts. “It’s a wonderful way that I can volunteer, I enjoy it so much” Walsh said. “We get 12 to 14 children [each week]. It’s word of mouth; people come when they can.” Walsh said she tries to create a theme for her 15-minute session, and aims to read “two to three books” to the children during her time with them. She said children who attend get a new book to take home with them. Though as a former teacher she makes certain to stress the importance of parents and caregivers reading to children, Walsh said “it’s the joy of reading to the children and seeing their faces” that has kept her with the Link to Libraries program for the past three years. Longtime volunteer Francie Cornwell, 67, of Agawam has played many roles during her time with Link to Libraries. Originally a read-aloud volunteer – before the program expanded to include so many schools – she’s now the director of the organization’s Welcome to Kindergarten program, which provides new kindergarteners in selected schools with a bag that includes two new books and information for parents about the importance of reading to their children. Cornwell said the book bags are distributed during kindergarten screenings, where Link to Libraries volunteers have an opportunity to talk with parents about the importance of regular reading. “With reading over and over [it] builds fluency and automatic reading [skills in the child.] Kids need this if they are going to be good readers,” Cornwell, also a former teacher, stressed. Once a month she and another woman also volunteer for the read-aloud program at Square One in downtown Springfield. “We read to a class, bring books for the children, and do a small art activity,” Cornwell explained. Seeing so many children in her volunteer work who come from situations where books might be a luxury, or simply not appreciated, Cornwell said she feels what Link to Libraries is doing is very important to the education of many in the younger generation. “If you give these kids books, you never know what influence it might be for the child or the family, she said.” Kaplan praised these volunteers, and dozens more like them, for helping her to achieve her goal of making a difference in the lives of children by helping them discover the power and joy of reading – a power she has experienced firsthand. “When I was a youngster I spent four years after school at the Boston Public Library in the children's room surrounded by the books,” Kaplan said, explaining that a she and her siblings had turned to the comfort of books in the wake of a family tragedy. “I was most fortunate as I traveled the world – learning how to bake bread from a master French chef, touching the Great Wall of China an even looking over the horizon of the Grand Canyon. All through the magic of the glorious and sweet smelling books that the librarian, Mrs. Boland, gave me each afternoon as I sat on the brown plaid sofa. It broadened my horizons and I traveled the world – never leaving that couch. “I want this for our children in western Massachusetts,” Kaplan continued. “Children like myself who were under served, perhaps poor and who had good intelligence ... to have opportunities. It worked for me and I knew that with budget cuts in schools. [as volunteers we] could make a difference. Maybe not change the world, but yes – make a difference. Literacy!” Kaplan said she currently has 27 volunteers readers – 23 of whom are retirees – from all walks of life who take part in Link to Libraries’ nearly 200 read aloud programs at various locations every year. She added that more than 60 percent of the children who participate in these read-alouds have never owned a book before receiving one at a Link to Libraries event. When it comes to finding volunteers for the program, Kaplan said, “We recruit through word of mouth. We actually have a wait-list – which is wonderful but always seek more volunteers to do many projects such as assemble literacy bags for our Welcome to Kindergarten program.” To date a total of 32 regular volunteers help Kaplan keep the programs – from sorting and labeling donated books to filling literacy bags to preparing materials for readers to reading aloud to students – running smoothly at the non-profits Hampden warehouse space. For more information about Link to Libraries, or to put your name on the volunteer list, visit the organization’s website at www.linktolibraries.org or call 413 224 1031 and leave a message. “We will call back within 48 hours, as is our policy,” Kaplan assured PRIME. Bookmark and Share