EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE: Spreading literacy

Local program brings books to schools

Children are more likely to grow into successful adults if they have books at home, not just in the classroom.

Staff members and volunteers who operate the Henderson-based nonprofit program Spread the Word Nevada believe this to be true. The organization sponsors Kids to Kids, a literacy program that makes the rounds all over the Las Vegas Valley, providing new and gently used books to pre-kindergartners through fifth-grade students.

The books are meant to be taken home for children to start their own personal libraries.

"There is a strong connection between the number of books a child has in their home and future success," said Spread the Word Nevada president Laurie Porter, a former school librarian. Porter founded Spread the Word Nevada in 2001 after more than a decade working at McCaw Elementary School. "I saw through my work the importance of children and the ownership of books."

While organizing book fairs at the school, Porter saw the devastation of some students who couldn't afford to buy a book. The Kids to Kids program distributes donated books to 10 low-income elementary schools throughout Henderson and Las Vegas.

When Kids to Kids first adopts a school, students receive five free books to get their libraries started. Children continue to receive one book a month, every month during the regular school year.

Porter said students who go through the program from preschool through fifth grade can receive up to 70 books.

"These are generally the very first books the children ever own, and they can't believe they are theirs to keep," Porter said.

In addition to the 10 schools that benefit from the organization, Kids to Kids formed a partnership with the Venetian Foundation in 2003 to provide an additional elementary school with more than $30,000 worth of books.

Last year 8,500 books were distributed to all 750 students at Moore Elementary School, 491 N. Lamb Blvd. Each student received 10-12 books during the school year, according to Moore second-grade teacher Amy Peterson.

Porter said many parents of Moore students work at The Venetian, and Kids to Kids sought out the partnership with the hotel-casino. She said for every dollar the Venetian Foundation donated to the program, Kids to Kids matched the funds to purchase the books.

Peterson, a former literacy specialist at the school, helped organize the book distributions held during the year.

"The children would get so excited when they knew a book distribution was coming up," she said. "They also learned how to select a book they thought they'd like, which is a good skill to have."

Moore Elementary students will again benefit this year with help from the Venetian Foundation, but Spread the Word Nevada is currently working to replenish its book supply for all its Kids to Kids elementary schools and the other programs it sponsors.

Last year Kids to Kids teamed up with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to offer the Books from Badges program, which encourages children in high-crime areas to ask officers in their neighborhoods for a free book they keep in the back of their patrol cars.

Breakfast with Books also was started this month. Kids to Kids staff members hold special breakfasts for students and parents at their 10 adopted schools. Children receive an extra book at the meal, in addition to the one they receive monthly through the program.

Spread the Word Nevada's Kids to Kids has served more than 30,000 children since its inception, distributing nearly 300,000 books. The organization collects books by holding several book drives in more affluent schools, churches and other service organizations.

Porter said Goodwill Industries has provided 60,000 books.

"We absolutely could not exist without them," she said.

The seven women involved in the organization also go bargain hunting for books and pick up drop boxes set up for donations at all Barnes & Noble locations in town.

"This truly is just a labor of love," Porter said.

For more information about the programs, visit www.spreadthewordnevada.org.


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