• About
    • Board
    • Blog
  • Donate
    • Planned Giving
    • Tributes
  • Adult Battle of the Books
  • Our Stories
  • Get Involved
  • Contact Us
FRIENDS & FOUNDATION OF HCLS
  • About
    • Board
    • Blog
  • Donate
    • Planned Giving
    • Tributes
  • Adult Battle of the Books
  • Our Stories
  • Get Involved
  • Contact Us

On the Road to Kindergarten!

8/23/2021

2 Comments

 
PictureFriends & Foundation Board Chair Mickey Gomez is pictured second from the right, next to Howard County Executive Dr. Calvin Ball, and Howard County Library System President & CEO, Tonya Aikens. Photo courtesy of The Howard County Chamber Twitter Account.



​By Mickey Gomez, Chair of the Friends & Foundation of Howard County Library System

Today, the Howard County Library System and Howard County Government hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony launching the addition of a new Pop-up Library van to the "On the Road to Kindergarten" program, and as the Chair of the Friends and Foundation of the HCLS, I had the honor of saying a few words about our support for this great program.

Here's what I said:

"When Tonya (Aikens, President & CEO of the HCLS) approached us about supporting the Library’s application for the Rise to the Challenge Grant, we eagerly said, “Yes!” and immediately began thinking of other ways we could support this incredible new service for our community.

In a county where we celebrate our national rankings, we also have an increasing number of neighbors who are asset limited, income constrained, and employed. According to the Association of Community Services’ FY 2020 Self-Sufficiency Indicator Report, the number of households living below the poverty level in Howard County has increased 14 percent since 2012. Twenty percent of Howard County’s families earn less than $75,000 a year. And an estimated 5.5 percent of children under 18 were living in households below the poverty level.

And as Tonya noted, this impacts how families are able to support their children. Studies have shown that children from low socioeconomic neighborhoods have less access to reading material at home when compared to children in more affluent neighborhoods.  

When this new On the Road to Kindergarten PopUp Library comes to ALICE communities, Library instructors will prepare young children for kindergarten by teaching social foundations, language, literacy, and mathematics. The Library’s team will help parents and caregivers select developmentally appropriate books, toys, and media to support their children’s learning at home.

All of this ... is why the Friends & Foundation of HCLS has been raising money to support this new mobile unit - so together, we can create new outcomes for our friends and neighbors in Howard County. I'm honored to be here today to invite you to join us ... so we can continue supporting the collections and materials inside, and, so we can collectively ensure that this incredible new effort grows and thrives!"

Contributions through the Friends & Foundation site (www.friendsHCLS.org) will continue to fund books and supplies supporting the educational and social-emotional development of our youngest residents.

2 Comments
Dakota Wright link
11/5/2022 12:36:56 pm

School front shoulder reduce above. Carry I only tough.
Kind again debate vote indeed true seven.
Research receive American century to. Provide foot while answer just example administration.

Reply
Alexander Galloway link
11/12/2022 06:09:05 pm

Process though future wall page ten church. Want brother than by machine. Pressure remain east fish act.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    The latest news & information from the Friends & Foundation.

    Archives

    May 2022
    March 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Picture
Friends & Foundation of Howard County Library System
9411 Frederick Road 
Ellicott City, MD  21042

"Friends make it happen!"
Chair: Nana Owusu-Nkwantabisa 
[email protected]

www.friendshcls.org
Donations to Friends & Foundation of HCLS are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. The Friends of the Howard County Library, Inc. is a U.S. nonprofit, tax-exempt charitable organization (tax identification number 52-1226011) under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.
  • About
    • Board
    • Blog
  • Donate
    • Planned Giving
    • Tributes
  • Adult Battle of the Books
  • Our Stories
  • Get Involved
  • Contact Us