Learning to read is hard work. One might say it requires a collaboration between various senses and body systems - visual, auditory, and memory. This month a collaboration between The Healthcare Education Project and City’s First Readers will bring a host of literacy and health resources to families in three boroughs.* This collaboration is a strategic effort to raise healthy readers with healthy minds and healthy bodies, in the communities we serve.
Kids need exposure to critical pre-reading experiences to be ready to learn when they walk in the schoolhouse door. That’s where the expertise and knowledge of City’s First Readers comes in. City’s First Readers is 17 partner organizations strong and each partner provides specific types of early education programming. City’s First Readers programs empower parents with skills, knowledge and the confidence to “Do This At Home!” ultimately leading to children who enter the classroom already loving books and eager to read. Partner organizations will be present with parachute games and literacy activities for children ages 0-5.
The Healthcare Education Project is a joint effort of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East and the Greater New York Hospital Association). The Healthcare Education Project will use the fairs to distribute copies of their new publication promoting mental health awareness, We’re Community by Gabriel Ramirez. Along with a presentation by a guest nutritionist, free fresh fruit and vegetable grocery bags will be distributed to the first 50 families who register.
"Our body is the only one we've been given so we need to maintain it. We need to give it the best nutrition." — Sharon Savary MS, RD, Clinical Nutrition Manager, SBH Health System
Reading increases a child’s capacity for critical thinking, develops empathy skills, gives them the support they need during challenging times, and builds much needed resilience promoting skills which can help protect against various mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.”— Psychology Today
Raising Healthy Readers is a collaborative effort to improve health and literacy outcomes for families with children 0-5.
* Health fairs are scheduled for the following dates and locations, rain or shine.
The Bronx: Tuesday, August 20, 2024 | 3pm - 5pm St James Park, between Jerome Ave and Creston Ave (Fordham Community)
Queens: Thursday, August 22, 2024 | 3pm - 5pm Rufus King Park, 150-29 Jamaica Avenue (South Jamaica Community)
Upper Manhattan: Wednesday, August 28, 2024 | 3pm - 5pm J Hood Wright Park, W. 173 St W. 178 Street between Haven Avenue and Ft. Washington Avenue (Washington Heights Community)
About City’s First Readers: Established by the New York City Council in 2014, City’s First Readers (CFR) is an initiative in collaboration with 17 nonprofit organizations and coordinated by Literacy in Community (LINC), fostering the literacy development of children birth through five. The initiative was started to address the literacy crisis in New York City by building a coalition with the capacity to build an equitable city where children start school ready to read. To learn more about CFR, please visit www.citysfirstreaders.com or contact Emmanuel Novy, Chief of Strategic Initiatives at enovy@lincnyc.org, 817-360-7075.
About The Healthcare Education Project: The Healthcare Education Project (HEP) is a joint effort of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East and the Greater New York Hospital Association. HEP’s mission is to protect and expand access to quality, affordable healthcare for all Americans through education, advocacy, and coalition building. For more information, visit: https://healthcareeducationproject.org/ or contact Samuel Bloch, Communications Manager at Samuel.Bloch@1199funds.org.
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