Everyday the teen mothers participating in the Athena Interactive Literacy Program go home with lots of books for themselves and their children.
“This program gets so many books into the community,” says the Care Center’s education director, Ana Rodriguez, who notes that these students come from homes in Holyoke and Springfield that are often devoid of books.
Each day the participating teen mothers spend time going through Reader to Reader’s inventory of 10,000 books, picking out titles that intrigue them. By the end of the week the mothers have taken home hundreds books that they not only read themselves and to their children, but also share with friends and family.
Launched in 2010, the Athena Interactive Literacy Program features a week-long workshop that works with pregnant and parenting teens in order to build their reading and writing skills, and to explore healthy eating and cooking.
The program is a partnership between Reader to Reader and The Care Center in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Funding is provided by a grant from PeoplesBank and a generous donation from Mary Ann Cofrin.
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