7/25/11

SLU Awarded Grant To Partner With SUNY Potsdam For Early Literacy Program

CANTON - The Charles R. Wood Foundation has awarded St. Lawrence University a $25,000 grant, to form a partnership with SUNY Potsdam in initiating an early literacy program called Branching Out with Books.

In this pilot project, graduate and undergraduate students from the colleges will work with small literacy outreach programs already in place at Jefferson Elementary School in Massena and Hermon-DeKalb Central School, and establish a new reading program at the Akwesasne Library on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation. Organizers estimate that in the first year, 53 to 57 children from the three locations will be involved in the program.

College students will travel to the program sites weekly to serve as after-school reading mentors; involve children in literacy activities with books, art supplies and other resources; and provide the children with books they can take home to read with their families.

The project is slated to begin in the fall semester and continue through the colleges' academic year.

The mission of the Charles R. Wood Foundation is "to provide assistance to areas of special need in the Lake George region and surrounding areas, by supporting not-for-profit organizations with an emphasis on programs for children, healthcare and the arts."