Imagine you are a child. Imagine you live in a lower-income community. You don’t have a lot of opportunities to see different cultures, try new foods or see new places. You are content, though, because your friends and families live nearly the same lives. Sometimes you wonder about the rest of the world, but you’re just a child.
Then one day you discover the public library! Worlds are opened for you. You learn new words, try new food and learn about the wonderful places there are to see.
It is because of this, because of the children that want to know, that the Friends of the Robson Library funds the summer reading programs at Aguila, Guadalupe, Gila Bend and Robson Library. Last year (2015) the summer reading program reached 1,517 children, teens and adults in the programs funded by the Robson Friends. Additional grants are given to Guadalupe and Gila Bend to provide snacks for the youngsters who attend the in-library programs. Youngsters are encouraged to try new things, such as whole wheat bread and blueberries.
Linda Goth, president of the Robson Friends, commented, “Those who can’t read are doomed to failure in today’s world. Our Friends of the Library group at Robson in Sun Lakes believes that today’s readers are tomorrow’s leaders, and to that end, we support as many programs and experiences as we are able for those children in areas less fortunate than ours.”
This month, The Friends of the Robson Library funded another exciting event at Gila Bend and Guadalupe, an author visit.
On February 10, Conrad Storad, award-winning author of more than 50 science and nature books for children and young adults, visited Guadalupe and read from his work. His choice for the kindergarten and first grade students of Guadalupe was a new book, Gator, Gator, Second Grader (Classroom Pet or Not?). The book is narrated by a guinea pig named Snoozer, the current classroom pet. The students were treated to a slide show of the colorful illustrations drawn by Alex Lopez.
On February 16 Storad visited Gila Bend where he presented three times, reading and visiting with older students. Both schools also received more than $500 worth of books for the school library. The two programs and the gift books cost The Friends of the Robson Library approximately $2000. All money used came from The Friends of the Robson Library Book Store.
So now imagine you are a child who always wondered if you could be a writer or an illustrator. Imagine the thrill of meeting a real, live author. That’s just one more glimpse into the big world full of opportunities children live in.
Like what we do? Join us for our monthly meetings the first Wednesday of the month at 9:00 a.m. in the Lecky Room adjoining the library. Help us change the world, one book and one child at a time. And visit our website at sunlakesfol.org.