Books, Backpacks and School Supplies
At the very heart of the mission of Opening Doors for Westerly’s Children is the promotion of literacy and academic achievement. To assist our young friends, preschool age through elementary, our organization has developed a program where we create special events centered around books, backpacks and school supplies for children of families in need. Volunteers from our organization gather and set up tables of brand new backpacks and boxes of school supplies. The book fair is the highlight of the event. In advance, key members of our organization meet with reading specialists from various schools to obtain reading lists grade levels and purchase brand new books from our local vendor, Savoy Bookshop and Cafe. Families are invited to attend these events and children are encouraged to choose their favorite color backpack, pick up their box of supplies and to thoughtfully select books from their reading level to add to their collections at home. What is truly precious about our program is when the children select their three “keep forever” books and add their name to the special bookplates placed inside.
Book Parties were started in 2013 by our founders in response to the knowledge that many children lack access to books and educational materials in their homes. This lack of access is the “single biggest barrier to literacy development.” In Westerly Public Schools, more than 30% of the children between preschool and fourth grade experience this barrier. Opening Doors for Westerly’s Children created its mission and based its programs on this premise. The main reason for this lack of access is financial strain. Almost all of the recipient families who participate in Opening Doors for Westerly’s Children’s programs qualify for free or reduced lunch. To put this in perspective, in 2019/2020, for a family to qualify for free lunch or 100% poverty, a family of 5 living in Westerly, Rhode Island would have a combined family income of $30,170.
Starting in 2014, book parties reached a total of 390 children, with the goal to reach all 600 eligible children enrolled in preschool through fourth grade by June 2018. By the end of 2017, we reached 530 children. In March 2017, an additional party was held to mark the birthday of Dr. Seuss, joining in the national celebrations to promote literacy. In 2019, 418 children were served through our program. During 2019, 1463 books were distributed and 412 backpacks and boxes of supplies were given to our little friends in the community. In 2020, we have already served over 700 families in our community and we are just getting started.
Each year we need your help to ensure that the children are ready for the school year. Through your generous donations, we can purchase books, backpacks and supplies that will ensure children are prepared for a promising start to the school year.
Summer Reading Program 2020: This summer, due to Covid-19, we had to alter our methods of distributing books and educational supplies to our young friends in the community. Utilizing the Summer Reading List, created by the reading specialists from Westerly Public Schools, our team worked with The Savoy Bookshop and Cafe, to purchase a selection of books for children ages preschool to 5th grade. To distribute the books, we worked with The Jonnycake Center of Westerly’s Splash program, a food program for families in need. A gift bag of three books were inserted into the families weekly food packages — Over 500 books were distributed to 170 children during the month of July.
Books, Backpacks and Supplies 2020: Additional books, and backpacks with supplies, will be distributed in the month of August at the South County Community Action Center – Head Start Preschool Program. We will be providing educational supplies for 70 children this year through this outreach effort.
And lastly in late August, we are embarking on a new partnership with Jonnycake Center of Westerly, Wood River Health Services, Back to School Celebration, and Washington Trust, plus many more generous sponsors, to provide 500 families with backpacks filled with essentials for traditional or virtual classrooms. Families will be able to collect their backpacks via a “Back to School Drive-Through” at the parking lot across the street from the Jonnycake Center of Westerly.
