For Immediate Release
December 15, 2005
Contacts:
703-324-8313
703-324-8300
Literacy Outreach Program Expands Into Reston
Fairfax, VA - The Fairfax Library Foundation will celebrate the expansion of its Motheread®/Fatheread® Literacy Outreach Program at 9 a.m. on Thursday, December 22 at the Laurel Learning Center, located at 11484 Washington Plaza West, Suite 200 in Reston. Representative Jim Moran (D-VA) will be recognized for securing $100,000 in funding for the Motheread®/Fatheread® program through the federal omnibus appropriations bill, which provided resources for the expansion into the Reston area.
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Catherine Hudgins will also be honored as the catalyst for bringing this successful literacy initiative to constituents in her district. Opening remarks will be presented by Congressman Moran; Supervisor Hudgins; the foundation’s Executive Director Roberta Longworth; the foundation’s Community Outreach Director Mary Knapp, and Julie Brunson, a representative of the Laurel Learning Center. The open house will include a session with approximately 20 preschoolers. Guest Services, Inc. will provide refreshments.
The Motheread®/Fatheread® program was launched in 2002. It helps children from low-income families, and those with limited English, develop reading skills. Parents and caregivers are taught to improve family communication through reading books to their children and discussing concepts introduced by the stories. The program creates a network among agencies working with families, thereby improving communication, resource sharing and relationship building. Last year, almost 5,000 children and more than 3,800 adults attended 314 Motheread®/Fatheread® program sessions, at which more than 7,000 books were distributed.