Montgomery — Brookfield Renewable has donated $15,000 to Read Aloud West Virginia to support literacy for the children of West Virginia.
“As a member of the West Virginia community, and particularly the Fayette County and Montgomery areas, we are proud to be able to make this donation,” said Andrew Davis, Brookfield Renewable Director of Stakeholder Relations, North America.
“Read Aloud West Virginia has done tremendous work in promoting the importance of reading among the youth of West Virginia by keeping books in children’s hands and by teaching them how reading is not only a valuable life skill, but how fun and enjoyable it is,” Davis said.
Brookfield Renewable owns and operates two hydroelectric facilities in West Virginia, Hawks Nest Hydroelectric and Glen Ferris Hydroelectric. Combined, they generate more than 105 megawatts of clean, reliable energy to power homes and businesses throughout the region.
This donation supports Read Aloud’s mission of promoting literacy through its four key program areas:
• Volunteer Readers. Community volunteers attend a one-time orientation and are placed in classrooms and other settings to read regularly. Their consistent involvement serves as a commercial for reading and sends a powerful message that reading is an enjoyable lifetime activity.
• Book Distribution. Access to books and other reading materials is essential to raising a generation of readers. Read Aloud puts books and magazines in the hands of students through a variety of efforts.
• Classroom Enrichment. Read Aloud maintains an inventory of materials which are available to teachers and schools upon request, including Author Week information, Life Stories Units for middle and high schools, book sets and trunks and other materials designed to stimulate interest in reading.
• Public Education. Schools cannot bear the sole responsibility for raising readers. Read Aloud reaches parents, relatives and neighbors to encourage these critically important role models in the lives of children. These individuals have the opportunity to influence a child’s perception of education and help him or her develop positive habits.
“Brookfield Renewable’s commitment to their employees and the communities they live in is tremendous,” said Mary Kay Bond, executive director of Read Aloud West Virginia. “This generous donation in support Read Aloud’s programs is a wonderful example of that commitment, and we are incredibly grateful for that support.
“Funding provided by this donation will enable us to strengthen all facets of the programs we offer to encourage children to WANT to read,” she said. “Brookfield’s gift will help us promote the joy of reading by giving more students access to books through our book distribution program. Additionally, these funds will enable us to build our volunteer reader program and expand our public education and classroom enrichment programs.”