Community Action of Central Texas has partnered with BookSpring since January 2019 to provide children and families with books throughout Hays County. This month the partner spotlight is on Community Action of Central Texas. Check out Sandra Martell’s guest blog below. Support provided in part by the Burdine Johnson Foundation.
The Community Action of Central Texas serves families of all diversities with many resources.
I work under the Texas Home Visiting team and drive and coordinate the Mobile Resource bus. At first, I was going to sites and different areas and doing storytimes, games, and just handing out books. When COVID hit the states, it left many families worried and without. We here in Texas are doing our best to support families through this pandemic.
We help families minimize stress as we can.
One way of doing this is to keep the kids busy and help them stay educated. The Book Mobile provides free resources on wheels that serve communities of all ages by offering books and activities. My job as a resource coordinator for the bookmobile is to reach out and find these educational resources for families, which can be very stressful for families who don’t know where to start or don’t know where to go. With the help of BookSpring, stress is less.
BookSpring has been a vital resource for my job!
With the help of so many book donations, I have served over 1,000 families that are in our child development programs with free books to share. These resources help families like those residing at the San Marcos Housing Authority Chapultepec Homes.
Kathryn, the site manager, mentioned, “We want to make sure our children have the same advantages as those of higher economic advantage homes.” She goes on to say how useful the bookmobile is, “With COVID-19, we have not been able to provide that direct programming, but Mrs. Martell has continued to provide books for our children on a monthly basis. My children and families love getting their book packages each month and look forward to the next.”
Community Action of Central Texas also restocks 15 little free Libraries; it is an excellent way of social distancing to get free books. Little free libraries are wooden boxes posted in several communities with free books for the taking. You can take and, or leave books.
Books are great brain food and provide tons of benefits, especially in the malleable minds of little ones. Of course, there are also the little ones that like to eat books. Yes, eating books is a thing with the littles one. Most board books are biodegradable. Have fun, and remember to read 15 minutes aloud to a child today!
Schools and organizations interested in community partnerships can check out BookSpring Delivered.
Families looking for free digital books and activities can check out our Weekly Themes or apply to BookSpring Direct to receive books at home.
