7689983ca2a81f64745ce14d14d93349

‘We help restore lives’

by Book DistributionChapters

By Calentha Quesenberry

When Marion Tanner asked a probation officer what would help Fayette County’s drug court the most, she was told: Incentives.

Defendants who participate in drug court look forward to reconnecting and bonding with their children more than anything else, Probation Officer Jennifer Smith said.

Naturally, as passionate as Tanner is about early literacy, her wheels started spinning. What better way to incentivize participants to meet their goals and help them to spend quality time with their children than with books? Books provide a loving way to bond with children and build skills that set children up for lifelong success.

Tanner, co-chair of Read Aloud’s Fayette County Chapter, worked with Read Aloud’s state office to get 200 books to Fayette County for the adult drug court program last fall.

A list of participants’ children (age and gender only) were shared with volunteers. Books were chosen, bagged and passed on to Smith for distribution at participants’ October hearing.

“I love the books. My kids are excited to get them every month,” said Paula, a drug court participant.

November, December and February 2020 book distributions followed. Fayette County Read Aloud is currently serving 12 families with a total of 26 children and a distribution of 85 books and counting.

“Fayette County Adult Drug Program is more than just supporting participants in recovery,” said Fayette County Circuit Judge Thomas Ewing. “We help restore lives. I see the participants get excited when they receive the books. This tells me we are repairing vital relationships at home. We are helping to facilitate bonding with children. There is nothing better than helping reunite families, one step at a time.”

Fayette County’s drug court was established in 2016, the 26th in West Virginia. Fayette is the 45th county served by a drug court. Only nonviolent offenders are considered for the program. Defendants spend at least a year receiving intense monitoring and counseling. Addicts are held accountable to the community, their families and victims who have been harmed.

“Everyone around the addict is affected in some way,” Tanner said. “Children may be removed from the homes, only to be placed with grandparents or trusted relatives. Others may enter the welfare system and/or the foster care system.”

Both children and parents look forward to receiving their books every month, Smith said.

“Sometimes we do not have to do big, great things to enable this,” she said. “We are seeing that small suggestions and simple parenting prompts go a long way.”

“I see my son every other weekend,” said Eric, another drug court participant. “I have to read one of the books every night at bedtime.”

Calentha Quesenberry is a Read Aloud of Fayette County volunteer.

Steve Keenan/The Montgomery Herald Fayette County educators, parents, Read Aloud volunteers and Brookfield Renewable employees gather to mark the company’s recent donation. At center, Read Aloud West Virginia Executive Director Mary Kay Bond, Kevin Moriarty of Brookfield Renewable; and Andrew Davis, Brookfield Renewable director of stakeholder relations, North America, hold the ceremonial check.

Brookfield Renewable gives $15,000 for local youth programs

by Uncategorized


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.

Collaboration for Imagination

by Book DistributionBooksChaptersEventsNewsPartnersReading

By Sara Busse

Country music legend Dolly Parton has a dream: to put books in the hands of young children across America. Thanks to Marion Tanner, that dream is becoming reality in Fayette County.

On May 7th, the Fayette County Read Aloud chapter hosted an event to launch Parton’s program, Imagination Library, to the families of the area. According to Tanner, it was a day to remember.

“Seeing all of those young families bringing in their babies with ribbons in their hair and all dressed up to get books—I haven’t seen anything like that in a long time!” Tanner exclaimed.

Tanner and Linda Cole are chapter co-presidents of Read Aloud in Fayette County. They are expanding the organization to put readers in all county elementary schools. The introduction of Dolly’s program will supplement their efforts by providing access to books for the areas youngest residents.

“We have so many kids who come to kindergarten that have never held a book,” the compassionate retired teacher said. “This encourages them to start libraries of their own.”

Cole and Tanner attended Read Aloud’s summer conference in 2015 and heard Nancy Hanna speak. Hanna works with the Greenbrier County Campaign for Grade Level Reading and talked about resources they were utilizing in the county. Imagination Library was one.

Parton’s initiative provides a book a month to children, ages birth to five, who are registered with the program and living in an area with a sponsor, like Read Aloud in Fayette County. The local group procures money to pay for mailing the books to the children.

“It’s $2.10 per student each month,” Tanner explained. “At the Read Aloud conference, [Hanna] talked about Early Literacy Grants—and one of the things they could be used for was to purchase Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library for their school system. I asked the Title One people in our county what they spent that money for, and found out we could apply.” Tanner received a grant through the state and through the Fayette County Board of Education.

Tanner and Cole are members of Delta Kappa Gamma, an international group of women educators, instrumental in organizing the Fayette County Read Aloud program. Many of the Fayette chapter’s members were on hand for the launch of Imagination Library on May 7th in the Oak Hill High School cafeteria.

“It was really rewarding for so many of us from Delta Kappa Gamma. We have all been teachers in the area, and nearly every young parent there was someone we had in school. Now they were bringing in their babies to get books,” Tanner said. The members of Delta Kappa Gamma did face painting and hosted a story corner with  Clifford the dog. Many other community organizations participated in or donated to the event.

“Kroger donated water, Marquee Cinemas in Beckley gave us popcorn,” Tanner said. Other participants included the Fayetteville Women’s Club with a “Jack and the Beanstalk” theme, complete with “magic beans” for the children to plant; the Mount Hope Lions Club with a fishing game as well as eyesight testing; The National Park Service with “Furs and Skulls” (from animals you could find in the New River Gorge such as skunks, otter, fox, etc.); and the West Virginia Treasurer’s office promoting Smart 529 college accounts.

Tanner credits Robin Taylor, Program Director of Imagination Library, of the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts, with making the Fayette program possible. The department gave the Fayette group a $500 grant to kick off the program.

“We used that money to buy books—we gave books to the brothers and sisters who came in so every child could get a book at the event,” Tanner said. “We registered 160 kids at the event.” After the event, the Fayette Read Aloud group went to the Meadow Bridge library and the Montgomery Library and registered children there, as well. The public libraries in the county will have registration forms, and families can also register online.

While the event was a great success, Tanner is realistic and knows there is a lot of work ahead.

“There are 2,600 kids eligible for the program,” she explained. “When I was a middle school teacher, there were kids who were so far behind because they couldn’t read. But we did something that just might make a difference.

“This is a labor of love—you want them to be successful. It was one of the best days I’ve had in a long time.”

For information on the Imagination Library program, visit www.imaginationlibrary.com. For information about other Imagination Library programs in West Virginia, contact Robin Taylor, Program Director, of the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts, at robin.j.taylor@wv.gov.

Sara Busse is a long-time Charleston resident and community volunteer. Her work at Trinity’s Table earned her recognition as a 2016 YWCA Woman of Achievement.

 

Photos (l-r): Christie and Grant Campbell registered their children, Christian (l) and Destiny (r), for Imagination Library at Oak Hill High School, May 7; Kathy Coleman (center), Delta Kappa Gamma member, read Jack and the Beanstalk to Brooklyn (l) and Maxx Davis.  The Fayetteville Women’s Club provided materials for children to plant their own magic beans.  Kathy is also a member of the FWC; Clifford, the Big Red Dog was a big hit with young listeners at the launch event.