February News Article

I Love to Read Month

When my sons were little, we visited my mother in the cities one weekend.  We decided to go out to lunch at a retro diner.  While we waited to be seated, my son Maxx noticed a lady reading the first Harry Potter book as she waited to be seated.  Maxx became very animated as Maxx tended to do as he told my mother and me how his teacher at school was reading this book out loud to the class.  I noticed the lady's smile as she listened to Maxx enthusiastically regale us with adventures of Harry Potter.  Unfazed, it came our time to be seated, and Maxx continued retelling the story.  As we sat at our table looking over the menu, the lady with the book walked over to our table.  She looked at me and said, "I finished reading a book by George Stephanopoulos, and I am finding it hard to get into this book.  I want your son to have it," and handed the book to Maxx. Maxx was overjoyed and excitedly thanked the lady as she smiled and returned to her table.  The boys begged me to read the book out loud right away, and I did.  That afternoon in a retro diner, we started our family tradition of reading all the Harry Potter books out loud as a family.  We read them at bath time, bedtime, and on road trips whenever we could find the time.  Those are times and memories I will always treasure.

February is "I Love to Read Month”, and love for books can be developed at an early age.  My granddaughters love books, and it is a joy to sit with them as we count the busy bumble bees or read about Llama Llama.  When you read to a child, learning occurs, memories are created, and bonds are made.  You teach them fundamental skills for success in their later school years.

At United Way of Southwest Minnesota, we are committed to literacy and school readiness.  Our internal programs, like Dolly Parton's Imagination Library and Little Red Bookshelf sites, focus on early reading and getting books to children.  We are grateful to everyone who has taken the time to support our children and our programs. 

“You can find magic wherever you look.  Sit back and relax.  All you need is a book” - Dr. Seuss.

Meg Louwagie
CEO
United Way of Southwest Minnesota