LINC’s founder, Mimi Levin Lieber, recently passed away at the age of 93. Her life was long and her accomplishments, many. Mimi’s conviction that literacy is essential to democracy was a fundamental reason she started LINC. She understood that the ability to read was necessary not only for individuals to succeed but for our democracy to flourish; she always knew that access to reading is a social justice issue.
In her memory, LINC is urging all registered voters to participate in the upcoming city elections. We are launching a series of social media messages encouraging everyone who is eligible to vote. Although many of the parents we serve are newly arrived from other countries and won't be voting, we do want to remind them that literacy is essential to democracy, that reading is necessary to create a more equitable city for our children.
Just as we help parents and caregivers understand that they can engender a love of reading in their children by introducing books and stimulating pre-reading activities from a baby’s earliest days, we know that introducing the simplest notions of democracy and voting will help children grow up with the idea that voting is something that we all do, both a responsibility and a right. LINC shows parents how to model literacy, preparing their children to become active, engaged members of their communities.
If you have the ability to vote, we implore you to do so and elect leaders invested in a freer, literacy-rich New York where education is a right of all residents. We know Mimi would be proud.
Follow our campaign on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages. Once you vote, tag us on social media and use the hashtags #LINCVotes #VoteNYC to help us continue building a literacy movement!