POUGHKEEPSIE – Students at Morse Elementary School in Poughkeepsie received a free book on Tuesday through the efforts of a local chapter of the National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) “Read to Succeed” program.
Developed by the NBCDI in 2017, the Read to Succeed program is designed to promote early literacy and language development by supporting families with young children in establishing home libraries with culturally relevant and developmentally appropriate children’s books and supplementary resources.
Linda Mann, president of the local NBCDI chapter, organized the giveaway with her vice-president Nadine Jackson and Poughkeepsie City School District officials. Mrs. Mann is a longtime proponent of literacy programs and has repeatedly said, “Reading is the key to our young people succeeding.”
The NBCDI teamed up with First Book, a non-profit agency that donated the books for the program. First Book says that education is the best way out of poverty for children in need and they have partnered with more than 55,000 teachers across the country to encourage children to read.
Mrs. Mann told Mid-Hudson News that the books distributed on Tuesday are designed to be the seeds that grow into a personal home library for each child. She also explained that the ability to read was instilled in her at a very young age, due to her family’s history.
“I am the great-granddaughter of an enslaved person,” Mann explained. “My great-grandfather wasn’t allowed to read – he got beaten severely because he went and got a book for my grandfather. My grandfather instilled in me that you have to read – you have to open doors to your life, so that’s why I do this.”
