OSWEGO, NY – The Oswego Bookmobile recently received a $5,000 donation from the Oswego Lions Club towards its Help Drive Books Home campaign, according to Theresa Slosek, steering committee member of the Oswego Bookmobile.
The Oswego Bookmobile is raising funds towards the purchase of a new bus for its community literacy program.
“We greatly appreciate the support and significant contribution from the Oswego Lions Club,” said Slosek. “Their donation will strongly help our organization’s commitment to empowering children to be readers.”
“This is a wonderful opportunity for our local Lions Club to have a far reaching impact on area children and families,” said Mike Henderson, Oswego Lions Club president. “We embrace the mission of the Oswego Bookmobile and our members were very pleased to be able to support this cause in the community.”
The Oswego Bookmobile program was founded in 2011 to combat an alarming trend.
Testing indicates that economically disadvantaged children in the Oswego City School District are significantly less proficient in reading than their more affluent peers.
By eighth grade there is a 40% gap between the percentage of economically disadvantaged children who are proficient in reading and the percentage of their peers who are proficient.
This is due, in large part, to having limited access to books at their reading level in their homes and in their neighborhoods during summer months.
This trend is commonly referred to as the “summer reading slide” and has a significant, long-term impact on the academic success of children.
The Oswego Bookmobile drives to areas with the highest concentration of children from low-income families in the city of Oswego, towns of Oswego and Scriba throughout the summer months.
At each stop, volunteer literacy specialists help children select books for them to have from the Oswego Bookmobile’s selection, and empower them to read. Every week features a different theme with related books, hands-on activities, giveaways, and read-alouds.
Last summer, 1,946 children visited the bookmobile and 5,057 free books were distributed.
For additional information on the Oswego Bookmobile visit www.oswegobookmobile.com
Established in 1917, Lions International consists of 40,000 local Lions Clubs worldwide with membership of 1.4 million volunteers.
Local chapters of the club are committed to serving the disabled including those with eyesight, impairments, hearing loss and other handicaps.
Anyone interested in becoming a member or learning more about the Oswego Lions Club should contact membership chair Jennifer Vivlemore at 591-7571.
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