by Dr. Mary Boyd, Randolph County Chapter President
Since 2018, Read Aloud Randolph County has been putting brand new books in backpacks for children who qualify for the food program that works out of First United Methodist Church in Elkins. Kids get the backpacks once a week, and the books are put in the backpacks once a month.
We started this program back in 2018 when I went to a Read Aloud West Virginia conference where many ideas are shared by other counties. Jackson County has a very active Read Aloud program, and they had been putting books in backpacks. I brought the idea back to our board, and it just seemed to resonate with the other folks on the board, so we started looking for ways to pay for it.
With lots of help from Read Aloud West Virginia, we got grants from both the Tucker Community Foundation and the Snowshoe Foundation to get us started. The state people thought getting grants locally was a good idea, and it worked. The money helped us get brand new books with nameplates, so the kids can take ownership of the books. Also, the kids get to choose the books, so they can get what they are interested in.
The program was put on hold in 2020, but in late 2021, the church started the food program back again, so the kids got books in February, March, April, and May of 2022. Since the county chapter did not apply for grants while the program was on hold, Read Aloud West Virginia provided the books from their stock made possible by community contributions and support. Participating schools have been Jennings Randolph, Midland, North, Third Ward, Elkins Middle and High School, Coalton, George Ward, Tygarts Valley, and Harman.
Read Aloud West Virginia started in Kanawha County in 1986 with the mission of motivating children to read for fun, helping them become better readers. For many years, the organization was led by Mary Kay Bond as Executive Director. Currently, it operates in 46 counties, with 29 local volunteer chapters. The state Read Aloud office is based in Charleston, where current Executive Director Dawn Miller and other Read Aloud staff make possible projects like this one across the state.
Read Aloud WV did not shut down during the pandemic – it evolved to continue serving students! Over 26,800 books were given out in 2021, a new organizational record for annual book distribution. Read Aloud is on track to break 100,000 books given by the end of 2022, and the Randolph County backpack program will be part of that achievement.
“We hope we can continue with this wonderful program. We love putting books into the hands of kids and ideas into their heads,” says Dr. Boyd.