September 28, 2012

What I did this summer...

Here's a great story from our Children's Services manager about Massillon Public Library out in the community this summer:

Over the 13 weeks of vacation from school, your Library presented 28 sessions to 376 kids at the Massillon Boys & Girls Club! In order to provide a bit more structure for kids in grades 5-8, the Club had asked us to present programs for its members, so we took our show on the road to present hour-long programs on topics including origami, Crazy Concoctions (making flubber and sidewalk chalk),Titanic, art, make-your-own soap, countries, bugs, African-American Local Heroes & Heroines, poetry, duct tape crafts, Super Snacks, “It’s Disgusting & We Ate It!” and more. Thanks to presenters: the Cultural Diversity Committee (especially Pat Beane), staffers Diane Brant, Laura Klein and Angel Vaughn, and volunteers Kathy Jevec, Perry Ballinger and Marcie Waltz.

The Club has an average attendance of about 157 students a day (grades K-12) during summer, and they were not able to provide much structured programming for the children in grades 5-8. The children who attend the Club on a daily basis are not usually able to visit the library on their own or with family, so they are a great new audience for our presentations and to introduce to the library.

Many of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch and are in need of stimulating projects that will encourage them to read. The Club charges only $10 a year for kids to attend every day after school and all day during summer and includes a daily meal. The Boys & Girls Club is a worthy organization and its members greatly benefit from the library’s involvement. We were happy to partner with them in this service.

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