Tag: Cracking Open the Universe

Judith’s Reading Room and Harkins House Celebrate 12 Years

  By ,

NEWS RELEASE

CONTACT: Cathy Leiber
www.JudithsReadingRoom.org

The Judith’s Reading Room Library at Portland, Oregon’s ‘Harkins House’ Celebrates 12 Years 

April 25, 2024 — Judith’s Reading Room, a nonprofit literacy organization based in eastern Pennsylvania announced that it had deepened its commitment to providing quality literature to ‘Harkins House,’ a residential shelter for teens near Portland, Oregon.

In May 2012, Judith’s Reading Room established a library at Washington County Juvenile Detention Center’s ‘Harkins House,’ a nationally recognized model program and short-term temporary residential shelter located near Portland, Oregon.  Based on research, literacy is a significant protective factor for at-risk youth and is strongly correlated with reducing recidivism.  For those reasons, Judith’s Reading Room has sustained its efforts to provide books and a path to building social skills and literacy.

In celebration of the 12 consecutive years of enhancing the initial library of 219 books, Judith’s Reading Room announced today that it has added 67 high-quality books at a cover price of $735.  The library has grown to 708 books valued at $8,734 and with today’s donation, includes New York Times Bestsellers, National Book Award Finalists, Stonewall Honor Books, John Newbery Medal authors and Best Book of the Year.

The organization has had a hands-on approach with its Judith’s Reading Room library with members of the board of directors visiting ‘Harkins House,’ conducting Banned Books events, supporting Book Clubs and producing a film documentary called “Cracking Open the Universe” that revealed to researchers from Lafayette College in Easton, PA that book clubs enhanced participation and positively impacted participants’ attitudes about pleasure reading.

For more information about Judith’s Reading Room and its annual “Freedom Through Literacy Award,” visit www.judithsreadingroom.org.

Cracking Open the Universe

  By , ,

The documentary, “Cracking Open the Universe,” you are about to view, is emblematic of the mission of Judith’s Reading Room, the Producer of this film. This film, as the embodiment of that mission, “Freedom Through Literacy,” demonstrates the sociological impact of literacy to promote peaceful human interaction. The vehicle employed to facilitate that peaceful human interaction is the Book Club, and the empowering fuel is Literacy.

Copyright 2015 by Judith’s Reading Room
Directed and Edited by Joel Vargas

To learn more about Judith’s Reading Room and its work to recognize and support those whose mission it is to promote and spread literacy, please visit www.judithsreadingroom.org. Thank you.

  • Donate Now

    We ask that you please make a donation to Judith’s Reading Room, in support of our ongoing recognition of what is being accomplished in the great world of literacy, as well as funding our shipment of children’s books, both domestically and internationally.