Wilmington, DE – This Thursday, July 12, kids of all ages and their families are invited to embrace summer learning with fun activities from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at New Castle County’s Woodlawn Library, located at 2020 West Ninth Street in Wilmington. The free family-friendly event is sponsored by New Castle County, the Delaware Division of Libraries, United Way of Delaware (UWDE) and Red Clay Consolidated School District. Free lunch will be provided to attendees 18 years of age and under, and free books will be provided to participating kids by Red Clay Consolidated School District.
"Summer learning loss is real, and your county government has creative and fun programs to encourage learning this summer and throughout the year,” said County Executive Matthew Meyer. “Beat the heat, pick up a free book and have some fun at Woodlawn Library this Thursday!”
July 12th marks National Summer Learning Day, a day of advocacy established by the National Summer Learning Association to support academic engagement and affordable, quality enrichment programs for kids throughout June, July and August to help them return to school from summer break ready to succeed in the year ahead.
Summer literacy initiatives are encouraged by the Delaware Campaign for Grade Level Reading, a statewide collaboration among community partners, government agencies and business leaders to ensure that more children in low-income families succeed in school and graduate prepared for college, career and active citizenship. This initiative is championed by the United Way of Delaware, the Delaware State Board of Education and Delaware Department of Education.
“Summer is a great time for students and their families to engage in activities that nurture a love of reading,” said Michelle Taylor, UWDE’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “United Way is excited to provide resources that will help children avoid summer learning loss and prepare for the upcoming school year.”
Thursday’s summer learning event at Woodlawn library comes during the State Library System’s Summer Library Challenge, launched last month by Delaware First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney. The longest running statewide public library summer reading program in the nation, the 39th annual Summer Library Challenge provides early literacy programs to help children build and develop reading and language skills; teen programs that motivate teens to read and discuss literature; and programs that encourage adults to experience the joy of reading.
“Red Clay applauds efforts by New Castle County, the Delaware Division of Libraries and the United Way of Delaware to encourage summer reading,” said Superintendent Merv Daugherty. “We are pleased to do our part to support this event and hope that many of our families and students take advantage of all the day has to offer.”
Woodlawn Library is part of the New Castle County Library system, which participates in the Summer Library Challenge through the countywide Summer Reading Challenge, a free incentive program that encourages and rewards reading during the summer months. Children, teens, and adults can sign up at their local library branch or online at https://nccde.beanstack.org/ and record the number of hours they have read to receive a prize book and certificate for reaching reading milestones. Over the past two summers, more than 14,000 readers participated in the New Castle County Summer Reading Challenge and together logged 260,000 hours of reading. The 2018 Summer Reading Challenge runs through August 11. Learn more and find a New Castle County library branch at http://nccde.org/libraries.
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Contact: Jason Miller, Director of Communications, 302-545-1462