Little ones love celebrations, and it’s never too early to learn about their culture, or a culture that is new to them. At Literacy Inc., we honor rich, diverse cultures every day, and we are delighted that Hispanic Heritage Month has begun. This month runs from September 15 to October 15 and is a good reminder to read stories featuring Hispanic and Latin American characters! Here are 5 books you can find at your from your local library and share with the little ones in your life: What Can you do with a Rebozo? by Carmen Tafolla With cheerful, bright…

It’s official. LINC’s newest literacy zone sits alongside a pediatric waiting area stocked with books and is open for readers! On Friday, August 26, 2022, Literacy Inc. (LINC) and SBH Health System joined forces to create early literacy spaces and programs inside the state-of-the-art SBH Health & Wellness Center with one goal, to Raise Healthy Readers in the Bronx. Launched with love and one big pair of scissors, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Eric Applebaum welcomed LINC with open arms at a celebratory ribbon-cutting ceremony. Speakers included LINC’s Chief Program Officer Laura Walsh and Chair of the…

Whether it’s daycare or kindergarten, that time of year has arrived. It’s the start of a new season, first days, and other beginnings, and we want our families to know that Literacy Inc. (LINC) is here for them. LINC’s staff and Very Involved Parents (VIPs) in all of our communities have been hard at work preparing for back to school programs in early August, which culminated with a delightful virtual reading celebration over Zoom on Thursday, September 1st. Families from all across the city joined us as LINC’s Very Involved Parent Manager, Wilkarlys Zaman, read Bear’s School Day by Stella…

Click the image to hear from the New York Yankees about the gift of literacy You’re Invited FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30thNew York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles Gates open 5:30pm; game starts at 7:05pm Tickets include entry to the ballpark, seating in Suite 7,a food and drink package, and a chance to wina baseball signed by Giancarlo Stanton!* Come early-The first 18,000 guests will receive a free Gerrit Cole bobblehead and Yankees alumni are scheduled to stop by the suite between 5:30pm – 7:00pm!———————–More special guests to be announced. Seats are limited. Join us to cheer on the Yankees during their last…

It takes a village to ensure that every child in New York City develops the skills needed to be successful in school by 5th grade. This August, as the New York City Reads Initiative prepares its annual Back to School Celebrations in all three neighborhoods (South Jamaica, East New York, East Harlem), families will be invited to embark on a brand new learning adventure. We call it Beyond the Book: Books, Activities and Fun. Each month, the NYC Reads Initiative will spotlight one book that celebrates a unique perspective and share free resources and activities around it. Beyond the Book…

On June 17, LINC’s Staten Island and Brooklyn staff collaborated on a unique trilingual program for World Sickle Cell Day (June 19th). As requested by the Very Involved Parent, Richelet Jean and his daughter, Hannah, who has sickle cell disease, LINC families united online to read the story Super Cells by Princess Walls in English, Spanish and French. Super Cells follows the journey of Gizelle, a brave little girl facing the challenges of living with sickle cell. Gizelle finds her super inner strength to take care of herself by putting on her cape and turning sickle cells into Super Cells.…

For 26 years, Paramount has been supporting its employees and providing the space for them to “give back, come together, and be part of something bigger” through an annual Community Day. This year, the company-wide initiative was celebrated on June 16th. Employees were offered many virtual (and a few in-person) opportunities to engage in a day of service with the non-profit organization of their choice. LINC has been a longstanding Community Day partner and we were thrilled to participate again this year. Paramount requested that we bring back a fan favorite activity: virtual Read Alouds. Clearly Paramount knows its employees,…

We were blown away by the joy and generosity that filled the air during our annual LINC Gala one month ago on Tuesday, June 7. For the first time, we held a hybrid gala, during which participants could join in-person at Second Floor NYC in Midtown Manhattan or stream virtually. Over the course of the evening, we presented the inaugural Mimi Levin Lieber Legacy Award to the South Jamaica LINC Community, honored our Board Chair Carlos Rodriguez for his tireless advocacy, and raised more than $775,000 to secure the futures of countless young readers across our city! The inaugural Mimi…

On Thursday, July 7, hundreds of books were distributed to children across the five boroughs of New York City as part the Diversity Through Literacy campaign! Literacy Inc. and Fidelis Care joined forces in all eight of LINC’s neighborhoods,* and the impact was tremendous. We call it #ABCDiversity! Beginning on Juneteenth, this campaign was designed to emphasize the significance of diversity and representation in children’s literature, to share books that reflect cultures all around the world, and help children develop confidence in themselves. “It’s important that kids can see themselves in books so they can dream and dream big. I…

I thank you, Councilmember Cabán, for chairing this hearing. I thank the members of the committee and the members who have put forth legislation. We at Literacy, Inc. commend the Council for tackling the challenges of childcare from many directions; as this array of legislation suggests, it is a multi-faceted problem. Please consider one more dimension: early literacy training for licensed family daycare providers. I am Eliana Godoy, Deputy Director of Literacy, Inc. or LINC, an acronym that also describes what we do – we link families with young children to literacy resources in their own community. We also facilitate…

On Friday July 8, LINC Very Involved Parent (VIP) Evelin Cuevas walked across the street from her home in East New York to Cypress Hills Playground to do a read-aloud for the children in her neighborhood. With her bright yellow shirt and warm disposition, Evelin’s joy and excitement about reading were contagious. Although on vacation from work, she chose to use her free time to give back to her community. “I love being out in the neighborhood, talking to parents and reading to the kids,” she said. Evelin graduated from LINC’s VIP Academy in 2018 with a cohort of six…

Summer is here and City’s First Readers (CFR) has plenty to offer New York City families! To get the message out, over 20 NYC Service volunteers did a day of community canvassing on Monday, June 13. Their efforts stretched through Brooklyn’s District 40, spanning Prospect Lefferts Gardens, most of Flatbush, and parts of East Flatbush, Crown Heights, Kensington, and Midwood. On the following day, Tuesday, June 14, City’s First Readers Manager, Meredith Jones, LINC’s Staten Island Manager, Husniyah Hassan, Communications Consultant, Nina Robbins and a proud group of LINC’s Very Involved Parents (VIPs) continued to spread the word on Staten…

Literacy Inc. (LINC) strives to find accessible opportunities for early literacy growth in all kinds of places in NYC, which for some families could include Free Comic Book Day on May 7. On the first Saturday of May each year, over 2,000 local comic book stores worldwide offer free comic books to all ages. Recently, Free Comic Book Day has also become a featured event of Children’s Book Week, which takes place this year on May 2-8. An article for parents of Scholastic Books praised the way comic books have empowered girls, children with learning disabilities, children on the autism…

As spring began in March, LINC embarked on our latest educational adventure by training 12 new determined parents and guardians who are committed to promoting early literacy. These highly-passionate individuals are what we call LINC’s Very Involved Parents (VIPs). They are literary advocates that make LINC’s work possible, serving in their communities as beacons of possibility and leadership. Many VIPs report having gained confidence and skills they would not otherwise have known thanks to their literacy stewardship. VIPs promote the joy of reading through local literacy events in their communities, and together they form a larger network of support for…

LINC warmly welcomes Andrea Newborn to our Board of Directors! Andrea Newborn is Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of ABM Industries, and in that role is responsible for all legal/compliance, risk and safety, corporate governance, and real estate affairs. Andrea has more than three decades of experience working in senior leadership roles at both public and privately held companies, including TravelClick, Inc. and Reader’s Digest Association. She recently completed her term as a David Rockefeller Fellow at the Partnership for New York City. Read more about Andrea’s favorite children’s book, current reads, and passion for our mission below:…