CF Staff Report
The Junior Leagues of Georgia, in partnership with Lt. Governor Casey Cagle and Dr. Holly Robinson, Commissioner of Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, kicked off Million Minute Read Week in February.
The Junior League, including participation by the Savannah chapter, has a commitment of reading 1 million minutes to Georgia’s children by April 2010. The program was started in August 2009 in Georgia. Established in 1993, Bright from the Start provides the state’s four year-old children with high quality preschool experiences.
The Junior Leagues of Georgia believe a significant opportunity exists to improve learning through early childhood education, and supports the state’s commitment to fund Bright from the Start and related programs. Studies have proven that children who are exposed to a rich vocabulary have a greater chance of success in school. Reading aloud to children is one of the best ways to facilitate their oral language and vocabulary development.
By third grade, children must be reading to learn, not learning to read. It’s a critical component of early childhood education, and a great opportunity for Junior League volunteers to make a lasting impact in the lives of children.
“We in the Junior League see the State’s funding of early childhood education as a critical investment in Georgia’s future,” says Junior League of Savannah President Julie Allen. “The Capitol Day Kick Off for Million Minute Read Week was not only a fun event for the kids, but also a great reminder to our legislators of the importance of literacy in our communities.”
Currently, The Junior League of Savannah works in partnership with the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System and the Savannah community on the eMentoring program called In2Books which fosters reading, writing, and critical thinking skills by connecting caring adult mentors, called “pen pals,” with 50 forth grade students.
Pen pals and students read five books together and exchange online letters discussing significant issues in the books over the course of the academic year. “Pen pals from the Savannah community are an essential part of this initiative and are critical to its success.” states Allen.
The Junior League of Savannah has approximately 200 volunteers participating in that program.
The Junior League of Savannah has over 1,000 women members committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable, according to Allen.
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