NEWS RELEASE
CONTACT: Cathy Leiber
www.JudithsReadingRoom.org
Encourage Siblings to Read Aloud to Younger Siblings
Choose a Summer of Reading & Make Lifetime Memories
May 30, 2024 — Judith’s Reading Room, a literacy nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching lives and societies by proactively encouraging freedom through literacy suggests a ‘sibling-to-sibling’ summer activity that will surely build lifetime memories.
In partnership with Washington County Juvenile Detention Center’s ‘Harkins House,’ a nationally recognized model program and short-term residential shelter located near Portland, Oregon, the Juvenile Service Supervisor recently shared the outcome of receiving the latest shipment of books donated by Judith’s Reading Room.
In celebration of 12 consecutive years of enhancing its Judith’s Reading Room library at ‘Harkins House,’ the organization added 67 YA and children’s books to grow the library to 708 books valued at nearly $9,000.
Martha Villegas, Juvenile Service Supervisor shared, “the youth had the opportunity to look through the books and pick out books for their younger siblings. They were able to use this opportunity to engage in reading with their younger siblings during family time at Harkins House.” She added, “It was nice to see how the family as a whole enjoyed spending time onsite reading together as an activity that included younger siblings. The youth shared excitement in being able to give their sibling a book and see their responses with big smiles on their faces.”
This summer, choose a family activity by visiting your local library or book store and encourage older siblings to pick out books to read aloud to their younger siblings. Imagine the joy that one ‘Harkins House’ youth felt when they said, “this is the first time I have ever read to my little sister.”