The Vinings Cumberland Rotary club has supported the Vinings Branch of the Cobb County libraries for decades. Through book purchases and dedication and one member has assisted the children section of the library with grants through the years.
The Vinings-Cumberland Rotary Club (represented by Linda Muir, Chanel Reid, Betty Smith, and Steve Hughes) and the Vinings Branch of the Cobb County Library System (represented by Farley Jenkins and Amanda Dusse) are collaborating to enrich the Library’s early childhood literacy programs. Initially, the new program will include several components with a view toward expanding the program as time goes by.
1. 1000 Books Before Kindergarten. The Library will begin to highlight this initiative that is already included in the System’s programming but is not currently an emphasis at the Library. The purpose of the program is to encourage parents to engage with their children from ages 0-5 to read 1000 books before Kindergarten, or 200 books per year, or 50 books per quarter. Focusing on kids 3-5 years old, the library will promote and highlight the 1000 Books challenge for all children and award books as prizes to those kids who read 50 books per quarter. At the end of the quarter, the Library will host a party to recognize and celebrate the winners. A kids book club might emerge from this effort.
2. Puppet Shows. To encourage early childhood reading, the Library will engage The Center for Puppetry Arts to present a puppet show to pre-k kids that focuses on the fun of reading and encourages the kids to read lots of books.
3. Buddy Readers. If possible, volunteers will be recruited to read to pre-k kids in the Library on a regular basis. Volunteers will initially come from the Rotary Club and may expand to come from the community and Interact. We will also explore the opportunities for a closer connection between the Library and Teasley School to encourage early elementary aged kids to read more to become proficient readers by the end of third grade.
4. The Library will apply for a $3000 Vinings-Cumberland Rotary grant to support costs associated with these new programs for children in the Vinings-Cumberland area.
These programs are envisioned to be ongoing and to become stronger and more robust as time goes by.