CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – Families with young children may expect to receive items to fuel both their bodies and a love for reading when visiting local food pantries in Nueces County.
United Way of the Coastal Bend’s Success By 6 Early Childhood Initiative (Success By 6) is providing 689 children’s books to be distributed at food pantries led by Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi and Wesley Community Center.
Staff with United Way of the Coastal Bend gathered earlier this week to sort and label hundreds of books that will be distributed at food pantries located in Robstown and Flour Bluff.
“There’s been such a negative economic effect with the pandemic, and many families are hurting right now,” said Donna Hurley, Vice President of Community Impact for United Way of the Coastal Bend. “We’re hoping that providing these books to families with small children will spark a bit of joy in a tough situation and help them grow their home libraries.”
Success By 6 is a community coalition established by United Way of the Coastal Bend to help improve school readiness in Nueces County. Working with local organizations serving children ages 0-5, Success By 6 provides support for a collaborative system of services that are child-focused and family-driven to meet the health and development needs of area children.
“One of the single greatest things a parent can do with their child is read to them daily,” said Sherry L. Peterson, Success By 6 Director for United Way of the Coastal Bend. “Reading with young children provides opportunities for building vocabulary and imagination, exploring ideas and, most importantly, bonding. By giving parents books, we hope to foster improved school readiness and an early love of reading.”
To learn more about United Way of the Coastal Bend and Success By 6, visit www.uwcb.org.