A partnership that got its start in 2021 is going strong in its mission to help young children thrive through the power of literacy.
Over the past two years, Red Oak Foundation of Fort Worth and Camp Fire First Texas School Readiness Program (CFSRP) have been hard at work to establish a positive link between the developmental progress of young children and family-teacher engagement through reading.
“There is no doubt that reading has a positive impact on a child’s development. Imagine all that is happening in the brain during these precious moments spent in the arms of a caring adult feeling loved and learning!” said Sharlene Abraham, Director of Camp Fire School Readiness, at the start of the pilot partnership. “Teachers have a long-standing practice of encouraging parents to read with their children, but this statement as a stand-alone recommendation isn’t consistently applied in homes across all income levels and age groups.”
In an effort to help lower such inconsistent application, Red Oak Books has supported the Camp Fire School Readiness Program by providing 513 books to participating School Readiness Centers. Centers will give the books to families to promote reading aloud to young children and family engagement.
Additionally, Centers will provide parents with activities that they can use at home to support skill development outside of the classroom.
Chezerae Coleman, Director of Joy Learning Palace, says the Red Oak Books program has become a resource for her center’s parents. “It has allowed parents the opportunity to engage with their children at home and create a learning environment at home,” said Chezerae.
Another participating center, Like My Own Childcare, enjoys being a part of the Red Oak Books program. “Receiving books to continue to promote literacy in our center as well as our children’s homes is a great way we ensure parents know just how important their children’s literacy skills are,” Director Retha Wilson stated.
Find more information about the Camp Fire School Readiness Program (CFSRP) at CampFireFW.org/SchoolReadiness.
About Red Oak Foundation
In 1991, Rebecca Brumley and her husband established the Red Oak Foundation in Fort Worth where she serves as its Executive Director with Nan Matson as Director of Red Oak Books. The foundation encourages reading to young children through programs in non-profit agencies, Pre-K classrooms in Fort Worth ISD, and pediatric clinics. It also provides scholarships to prospective teachers. Red Oak Books has given over 730,000 new, hardcover books to disadvantaged families in 21 years.
About Camp Fire First Texas
Camp Fire First Texas is one of the largest Camp Fire councils in the country and invests in North Texas communities by providing out-of-school time and outdoor learning programs for children and youth while also offering workforce development programs for the educators who care for them.
Camp Fire programs stand out from others as they are uniquely focused on the two periods of greatest brain growth and development: early childhood and early adolescence; they leverage the impact of the outdoor environment on the brain to educate and connect children to each other and the world around them; and maintain a continuous improvement loop to maximize community impact.
We envision a community in which every child has equitable access to quality learning opportunities that cultivate the skills they need to succeed and thrive in a rapidly changing world.
