YOUTH INITIATIVES
These essential youth initiatives are not funded through tax-payer dollars; your support helps make them possible.
Make a difference in a child's life by donating today.
Early Learning
Spaces
Summer with
the Library
Welcome Baby
Packets
Summer with the Library offers children and teens the opportunity to participate in numerous activities that encourage reading and life-long learning. More than 5,000 children, teens, and adults participate every year. According to national research, children must continue reading during the summer or they are at risk of losing up to 67% of their reading skills during the summer months.
Early Learning Spaces build the foundation for young children to enter school ready to learn by fostering curiosity and promoting the five early literacy activities: read, play, talk, write, sing/rhyme. They are designed to nurture children ages 0 to 5 and strengthen families by providing a safe, accessible, and educational area for children and caregivers to interact.
A new initiative started in 2017, Welcome Baby packets help parents celebrate the power of Read, Rhyme, and Romp with their child. Packets include an "I Drool for Books" bib; a book of poems, songs, activities, and stories; and a card explaining the importance of early engagement. Packets are available in English and Spanish and are distributed through 25 community partners.