(Above) RFM’s publisher Margaret Thompson (right) drops off magazines to be distributed with meals and books to Richmond-area families. (If you would like to distribute RFM with your product in the coming weeks, please email info@RFMonline.com for details.)
Richmond public school families picking up food at distribution sites also found books to take home and read while schools are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Richmond-based Read to Them and The Children’s Museum of Richmond, with its Book Bank program, teamed up to work with Richmond Public Schools to provide more than a thousand books to elementary school students impacted by current school closures.
“These are anxious times. With schools closing and communities taking action to address health concerns, we want to assist in encouraging families to continue making reading at home a priority,” says Read to Them Executive Director Christa Donohue. “Access to engaging, age-appropriate books is vital to providing educational support while schools are closed. And reading can be an enjoyable family activity while we are social distancing.”
“The mission of The Children’s Museum Book Bank is to put books in the hands of children who would not otherwise have them,” says Children’s Museum Book Bank and Community Partnerships Coordinator Stacy Smith. “With the closure of the schools we are working to continue to provide books for those children whose families will be able to select the books they wish to take home.”
The Book Bank provided the books and Read to Them will distribute them through current food distribution sites. Families also received a copy of RFM.
Read to Them is a Richmond based non-profit promoting family literacy, with literacy programs that have reached over 2 million families in over 3000 schools in all 50 states. A continually growing body of research demonstrates that children who are read to at home become better readers, are more confident in school and academic success follows. Literacy skills provide the basis for a lifetime of learning and productivity. For more information: Read to Them.
Learn more about Read to Them in Reaching Out.
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Read more about the Book Bank at the Children’s Museum. Go here to access video, activities, parenting resources, and more at the Children’s Museum.
