Summary: Children Birth to Age 5 in the Verde Valley will receive free books monthly in the mail; providing approx 4,100 books
This project is submitted as a large collaborative project involving three Clubs in the Verde Valley, AZ, the Rotary Club of Sedona (1st priority $2000), the Rotary Club of the Verde Valley (1st priority $2000) and The Rotary Club of Sedona Village (1st priority $2000). The amounts listed in parentheses represent the District matching portion of the Grant. The clubs will contribute $1,000 each.
Language and literacy skills of children living in the Verde Valley area of AZ are significantly behind children from other states. Only 44% of children can pass the 3rd grade state literacy test (AZMerit 2019). Poverty levels are high with 68% of school children qualifying for free or reduced lunch. For about 30%, English is their second language. Affordable housing, medical care and childcare are critical issues. Arizona ranks 50th in the country for early childhood education funding. Children learn through play and verbal interaction with responsive encouraging caregivers. Early exposure to interactive talking, singing and reading makes a lifelong difference in learning. In addition, language, vocabulary and attention at age 3 predicts who will struggle with reading. Lack of stimulation before age 5 when 90% of neural pathways are complete is a major, preventable cause of learning problems.
Dolly Parton's renown Imagination Library is a book program for children birth to five that inspires a love of books and reading. Kids receive a carefully selected new book in the mail every month with their name on it. They love getting mail and beg their parents to read to them. The books are selected by developmental specialists to be stimulating, age-appropriate with positive themes that promote self-esteem, confidence and regard for diversity. The program increases the time parents spend reading with their children and significantly improves kindergarten readiness for enrolled children. The Dollywood Foundation chooses the books and manages the publishing, labelling, and mailing. Local affiliates such as VVIL pay her Foundation every month for this service. Parents pay nothing. The program was deemed an "Essential Service" during the COVID-19 Pandemic when libraries, Head Start and preschools were closed.
The Rotary Club of Sedona brought the Imagination Library to Sedona children in 2012. Thanks to a one-year challenge grant of $25,000 from the Arizona Community Foundation of Sedona in July 2016 and a Rotary District matching grant of $3000, all Rotary libraries, school districts, Head Start and Northern Arizona Healthcare's Verde Valley Medical Center to Clubs in the Verde Valley (Sedona, Sedona Village, Verde Valley, Sedona Red Rocks) joined forces to expand the Imagination Library to all children living in the Verde Valley. Enrollment started at 400 in July 2016 and has served over 2,200 children over the past year. A new non-profit was formed called The Verde Valley Imagination Library (VVIL) with bylaws calling for a seat on the Board for every participating Rotary Club. The Board has evolved and now includes active Rotarians, spouses and friends of Rotarians and representatives from community libraries. The VVIL serves preschoolers in an area where poverty is high, literacy levels are low and the majority of children do not attend Preschool. Newborns continue to be enrolled at the birth hospital. The VVIL partners with community libraries, Head Start, school districts and home visitation programs to name a few. Subcommittees of the VVIL include non-board Rotarians that help us with fundraising, web design, advertising, legal needs and more. This is an ongoing project designed to improve early childhood literacy skills through early intervention. Ultimate results will be tracked using the new, statewide Kindergarten Entry Assessment (KEA) starting in 2022 as well as the standard, statewide 3rd grade reading test. We saw an improvement in AZMerit scores in a 3 year period (2016-2019).
Completed
This project is "Completed". This means the project has been implemented and the report was accepted by the district leadership. The project will stay listed on this website as a testimony of the achievements of the project partners.
System Entry: Pledge of $1,000 with $2,000 DDF by Jean Barton of the Rotary Club of Sedona, District 5495.
30-Apr-22
System Entry
System Entry: Pledge of $1,000 with $2,000 DDF by Carolyn Martin of the Rotary Club of Sedona Village, District 5495.
2-May-22
by Rebecca Wilks
System Entry: Project sent for club signatures.
2-May-22
by Rebecca Wilks
System Entry: Project signed by Rebecca Wilks.
2-May-22
System Entry
System Entry: Project signed by Carolyn Martin.
2-May-22
by Jean Barton
System Entry: Project signed by Jean Barton.
4-May-22
System Entry
System Entry: Project signed by Lynette Prouty.
19-May-22
by Rebecca Wilks
So sorry about the website glitch, we'll all have to sign the project again.
19-May-22
by Rebecca Wilks
System Entry: Signature Process cancelled by user.
19-May-22
by Rebecca Wilks
System Entry: Project sent for club signatures.
19-May-22
System Entry
System Entry: Project signed by Rebecca Wilks.
19-May-22
System Entry
System Entry: Project signed by Lynette Prouty.
19-May-22
System Entry
System Entry: Project signed by Carolyn Martin.
19-May-22
by Jean Barton
System Entry: Project signed by Jean Barton.
4-Aug-22
by Rebecca Wilks
Congratulations! The Rotary Foundation has approved our block grant, which means we'll have the funds soon.
As you know, you must wait until this point to spend any grant funds. Your final report, which is due April 30, must include
receipts for the entire budget of your grant (gather them as you go along, please) dated August 4 or later. The report form is
available in the Foundation section of rotary5495.org. Please be sure your bank information is up-to-date so there is no delay
in sending the funds by electronic transfer. This information, as well as questions about when you'll receive the money, should
be addressed to our District Treasurer, Lucinda General at treasurer@rotary5495.org
4-Aug-22
by Rebecca Wilks
System Entry: Project approved by the District Approval Committee.
17-Aug-22
by Rebecca Wilks
System Entry: Check for DDF payment issued by Foundation Treasurer.
16-Apr-23
by Rebecca Wilks
A friendly reminder: The report for this grant either has not been submitted or is incomplete. The deadline for reporting is April 30. Late reports can jeopardize your club’s future grants and delay receipt of next year’s funding for all clubs in the district. The report form can be found here:
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