A New Independence in Honduras

Judith’s Reading Room opened its 97th Library in Honduras this February with help from Ana Luhrs, former Board member and Freedom through Literacy Award winner, and the students of Lafayette College’s Economic Empowerment and Global Learning Project. Students travelled to the remote village of Zambrano, Honduras to help rural farmers grow their coffee business.

The Lafayette students built a curated library for exceptional women selected by village elders to attend The Leadership Center (TLC) in Zambrano. Ana used the funds she was awarded as a winner of the organization’s 2018 Freedom Through Literacy Award to purchase books, among them autobiographies of women, and create a culture of reading for pleasure.

“Access to information beyond the classroom allows students to take ownership of their educational journey. Library collections, especially well-curated collections, provide a variety of perspectives beyond that of a classroom textbook and an instructor.”

Ana Luhrs, Lafayette College librarian

Women in Zambrano want to become global leaders in the coffee industry, so acquiring the English language skills they need to expand their businesses is a must. Now they have a well-stocked library with books on business that they can learn from.
“Judith’s Reading Room stands with the dozens of young women hand-picked to learn management and leadership skills at TLC so that they can become highly productive leaders in their country,” said Cathy Leiber, Co-Founder, Judith’s Reading Room.  “Thanks to Ana Luhrs, having a library at TLC which is packed with books to encourage a love of reading, students will be able to explore the world when there is little opportunity to leave their country.”

This marks the 97th library opened by Judith’s Reading Room globally. Judith’s Reading Room was established in 2010 to honor the memory and legacy of Judith F. Krug, a librarian. Since 2010, Judith’s Reading Room has dedicated 97 libraries in 20 countries. The organization sponsors the Freedom Through Literacy Award which has disbursed $29,000 in awards to 25 individual champions of literacy.  Additional information and the application for the 2019 Award can be found at www.JudithsReadingRoom.org/freedom-through-literacy-award/

Building first-time libraries, visit by visit

The core of Judith’s Reading Room is the belief that books change lives. At Casa Guadalupe in Allentown, Pennsylvania, children under five are bringing home their first books thanks to a creative partnership.

The first thing you see when you visit the Women, Infant and Children (WIC) Program at Casa Guadalupe in Allentown is a bright red cart of books. Small books, big books, books with wheels, and books with fuzzy fur poking out the covers. It’s a tantalizing display of literary delight, and it is hard to resist when you are five and under.

“Kids are crying and begging for books every time that they come to their appointment,” says former Freedom Through Literacy honoree and WIC Program Coordinator Dawn Bush. “They even still ask for books over stickers!” Moms love the program, too. At each visit, they can bring home a book to add to their child’s library–a luxury many cannot afford on their own.

Started in April 2013, the Birth-2-Five Initiative was Judith’s Reading Room’s answer to the 30-million word gap. Research shows that by age three, a child in poverty hears 30 million fewer words than a child from a middle-income home. This impacts a child’s ability to compete with his peers once he reaches elementary school and can have damaging effects on confidence, self-worth, and academic growth.

After a recent audit by Maternal & Family Health Services, the overseeing agency of the WIC program, it was recommended that books be added to the nutritionist’s office so children had something to focus on, giving their families quality uninterrupted time to listen to the important information the nutritionist was sharing.

Since the inception of the Birth-2-Five Initiative, Judith’s Reading Room has donated 15,649 children’s books to the WIC Program at Casa Guadalupe, building countless home libraries and changing lives.


Do you know a Champion of Literacy in your community? Do them a favor and share the 2019 Freedom Through Literacy Award application with them!

Books in Cambodia Lead to Jobs for Graduating Students

Here at Judith’s Reading Room, we were very touched and impressed to learn from Robert Lucas that he has been able to start his own business in Cambodia after we collaborated with him to open a library there. Here is an update on his story:

Books in Cambodia Lead to Jobs for Graduating Students
by Robert Lucas

Oun, Kimlong and Robert (pictured left to right) in their production facilities.

Oun, Kimlong and Robert (pictured left to right) in their production facilities.

Cambodia always felt a little like home, despite having grown up in the US, so it was a joy and a gift to be able to collaborate with Judith’s Reading Room to open their first libraries here in Cambodia. Not knowing what the possibilities would lead to, I hand carried the books from Los Angeles to both non-profit organizations, A New Day Cambodia in the capital Phnom Penh and Anjali’s House in Siem Reap.

I remember the day I took the books to both places—I was with my parents—and we spent time with the kids reading stories, turning pages, and gazing in awe and curiosity at the new pictures and new stories.  The kids still seemed so young at the time—it was April 2013—but I knew they would be going out into the world outside of the non-profits soon enough.

I was never with the kids on a daily basis after opening the libraries as I went off on my own adventures, opening my first business based in Phnom Penh, but I stayed in contact with the students and would often ask them about any new books they had read or if they were writing their own stories yet. Their faces would light up any time I asked them about the books in their new libraries.

As time passed though, there was a particular growth and synergy for both the students and myself as my business was doing well and the kids were not only learning more, but also readying themselves to enter the workforce. One by one, the students would leave the fertile soils of the library and the non-profit to start planting seeds of their own as they began to build their careers and lives ahead of them.

When I started out with my business Jiva Probiotics, which creates hand-crafted probiotic beverages, I knew building a strong team would be key, so one of the first places I looked to was the non-profits I had been connected to. I hired Kimlong who was a former teacher from A New Day Cambodia and we continued to strengthen our team by inviting the students, who were leaving the center to look for work, to join our team. Turns out that has been a big key to our success because we started with a feeling of camaraderie dating back to the founding of the JRR libraries.

To this day, Jiva and the leaving students continue to partner and work together and even though some have come and gone, moving onto even brighter futures, there is a bond rooted in books and libraries. I can only hope that all of our futures stay intertwined and connected through books and meaningful work, leading to brighter days ahead.

 

Judith’s Reading Room Donates 1,000 Books to Allentown Kids

Judith’s Reading Room donates 1,000 books to Allentown kids

 

Learning2

Judith’s Reading Room donated more than 1,000 new books valued at $5,000 to honor its 2016 Grand Prize “Freedom Through Literacy” Award winner, Kelly Stoops.

Kelly, a beloved Allentown teacher, passed away in July, 2015. In her memory, teachers at Roosevelt Elementary School celebrated Kelly’s award winning literacy program at a “Book Blast.” Every child in the school received a book in Kelly’s memory. At the end of the school term, 81 children, 77 parents and 33 volunteers brought books to life through costumed story characters and read to lead groups where parents observed a trained facilitator modeling literacy strategies for them to practice at home with their children.

Children

A major goal of this community-driven literacy program is to prevent ‘summer slide,’ during which students regress due to lack of books and no reading. The 3rd annual $10,000 Judith’s Reading Room “Freedom Through Literacy” Award will honor individual champions of literacy from all disciplines around the world — teachers, librarians, authors, booksellers and educators — anyone who has done exemplary work to instill in others a love of reading.

 

Applications for the 2017 Award will be available on line in the fall at www.judithsreadingroom.org. Since its inception, Judith’s Reading Room has opened 94 libraries in 17 countries with 127,000 books worth nearly $1.4 million. The organization has awarded $20,000 to 10 global champions of literacy.

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