“At one magical instant in your early childhood, the page of a book—that string of confused, alien ciphers—shivered into meaning. Words spoke to you, gave up their secrets; at that moment, whole universes opened. You became, irrevocably, a reader” — Alberto Manguel With today’s educational disruptions, LINC’s mission has never been more critical. Raising Resilient Readers is Essential Right Now. Prior to the pandemic, children living in poverty were already at a disadvantage. Today, the educational disparity is bigger, with low-income families unable to connect successfully remotely. We need your help to uplift the most vulnerable children, and today, your…

Molly Ness, Ph.D. Shines the Light on Literacy Inc. in Her Innovative Podcast Series We are honored and delighted to share our first podcast — an episode of End Book Deserts with literacy researcher, educator and author Molly Ness, Ph.D. You may be wondering – what is a book desert? A book desert is a geographic area where reading materials are scarce and Molly’s goal to eradicate them completely. She interviews leaders committed to improving book access and equity and uses her podcast platform, End Book Deserts to advocate for the children affected by this drought (or crisis). According to…

On Thursday, June 18, LINC’s staff joined ViacomCBS and Common Impact for a phenomenal two part event – ViacomCBS Virtual Service Day. This pioneer event gave birth to a whole new kind of volunteer experience, one that we are eager to make a tradition. You may be wondering how one can volunteer virtually. Thanks to a longtime relationship with ViacomCBS strengthened by LINC’s Board member and ViacomCBS employee, John Halley, LINC had the opportunity to experience virtual volunteering firsthand. LINC has partnered with ViacomCBS to celebrate Viacommunity Day, the company’s day of service, for over a decade. Every year around…

Summer may look different this year, but summer isn’t cancelled! Whether we come together virtually or in person, New York City families can always count on LINC. We are offering a variety of quality learning opportunities and critical support throughout the summer and through COVID-19. LINC is proud and excited to kick off National Summer Learning Week from July 6-11, 2020. Just as LINC’s other programs, our annual Summer Learning opportunities have adapted to a virtual environment. This program will culminate July 10th with a special celebration on National Summer Learning Day. Over 100 LINC families will read and participate…

“During this disruption, the notion of linking ourselves together for the greater good is what we need to do and what we must do.”— LINC Founder Mimi Levin Lieber At LINC’s Virtual Gala, our founder Mimi Levin Lieber, reminded us that LINC links people and resources together to fully support children in learning how to read. LINC unites communities around the value of literacy and education justice. As our world struggles with the consequences of COVID19, LINC’s mission is more critical than ever. LINC works with the New York City families that have been most affected by the current pandemic…

Our communities win big when we are all counted in the 2020 census but you literally have to have to be IN it to WIN it. What do you “win”? Many government services and public funding priorities are based on the number of people in a community. Federal, state and local governments all use the census to estimate the need for services and plan for those needs. If seniors are not counted, you can be sure the number of programs and centers for seniors will decrease. If babies aren’t counted, the number of slots available for daycare will fall short…

Thank you to the more than 50 advocates and allies who joined Literacy Inc. (LINC) and other members of the New York City Council’s Early Literacy Initiative, City’s First Readers* for a dynamic panel discussion on June 11, 2020. The panelists’ remarks illustrated what City’s First Readers partners have known for years: support for early literacy programs is not discretionary, it is essential. For me, one of the most powerful messages of the event came from Dr. Alan Mendelsohn who summarized the intersecting issues beautifully: Even though children have been somewhat spared from the disease itself, the COVID-19 pandemic is…

LINC is proud to recognize today, June 19th or Juneteenth as a day of action and reflection. Our staff will take the day off to engage in a day of individual or collective action and reflection in celebration of black history and in solidarity with our black communities. Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, when union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas on June 19th, 1865, to announce slaves had been emancipated TWO YEARS prior. That’s right. Texas was known as a lawless southern territory where white plantation owners continued to operate brutal and forced labor despite…

Estimada comunidad de LINC: Literacy Inc. apoya a la comunidad negra y denuncia inequívocamente cualquier forma de violencia contra nuestras comunidades de color. Nuestras comunidades han sufrido y siguen sufriendo tanta violencia sistémica. Nuestros niños viven el trauma de todas estas experiencias individuales y colectivas. Nuestros niños son testigos de nuestra injusticia racial. Ellos lo sienten. Ningún niño debe dormir con miedo. Ninguna madre debería preocuparse por la seguridad de sus hijos cuando salen de casa. Estos últimos meses han sido una marea incesante, palpitante y creciente en la larga historia de injusticias sufridas por nuestras comunidades. Las desigualdades de…

شكرا لكم على منحي الفرصة للأدلي بشهادتي. أنا إليانا جودوي ، أمثل منظمة Literacy INC. (LINC) و 11 منظمة أخرى غير ربحية، اللتي تشكل المجلس لمبادرة محو الأمية المبكرة ، لCity First Readers (القراء الأولون للمدينة) . (CFR) نحن صوت نصف مليون طفل في مدينة نيويورك يعيشون في الفقر. City First Readers (القراء الأولون للمدينة) هي مبادرة المجلس الوحيدة اللتي تلبي الاحتياجات التعليمية المبكرة للأطفال ، من الولادة حتى سن الخامسة ، لتزويدهم بخدمات محو الأمية، الشيء اللذي سيساعدهم على التفوق في الدراسة. أدت الأزمة الصحية الحالية إلى تفاقم أزمة محو الأمية في صفوف الساكنة بسبب إقتصار ولوج موارد محو…

قبل خمس سنوات، اتخذ مجلس مدينة نيويورك خطوة أولى مهمة نحو إعداد الأطفال لبدء المدرسة، وهم جاهزون للتعلم من خلال إنشاء مبادرة لمحو الأمية في مرحلة الطفولة المبكرة القراءالأولون لمدينة (City’s First Readers). القراءالأولون لمدينة (City’s First Readers) هو تحالف من إحدى عشر منظمة في مدينة نيويورك تعمل في جميع الأقسام الإدارية الخمسة لتقديم برامج ممتعة وغنية بالمعلومات للعائلات التي لديها أطفال من الولادة وحتى سن الخامسة، و لينك LINC هي الشريك الرئيسي في تنسيق هذا الجهد على مستوى المدينة. يريد القراءالأولون لمدينة (City’s First Readers) من كل أسرة في مدينة نيويورك فهم أهمية بناء أسس قوية لمحو الأمية قبل…

Virginia Jun 2, 2020 4 min read do not achieve economic self sufficiency and rely on public assistance, are far less civically engaged, have decisively poorer health outcomes than people who read proficiently, and have greater levels of involvement with the criminal justice system, at both juvenile and adult levels. Engaged families at 463 locations across NYC that spanned every Council District meeting the challenge of targeting economically high-poverty areas where parents may not provide critically needed pre-reading activities Distributed 370,000 free books and 62,101 early childhood literacy kits (books + resources, tips & strategies information) Provided 975 educational workshops…

Dear LINC Community,  Literacy Inc. stands with the Black community and unequivocally denounces any form of violence against our communities of color. For too long our communities have endured violence.  Our children live the trauma of these experiences. They witness our racial injustice. They feel it.   No child should go to bed in fear. No mother should agonize over the safety of their children when they go outside. These last months have been a relentless, pounding, rising tide in the long history of injustice suffered by our communities. Inequities in healthcare and living conditions mean our communities have suffered disproportional lives…

Did you know that an estimated 5 percent of kids under the age of 5 weren’t counted in the 2010 Census? That’s about one million young children, the highest of any age group! Join LINC from April 27 – May 1 as we kick off a Census Week of Action. We want families to know why filling out the 2020 census survey is so critical to the wellbeing of our communities. We need your help closing this gap in the 2020 Census and here is what we learned about why many young children were not counted in 2010. WHERE –…

This pandemic has revealed structural inequities that are creating daunting challenges for our most vulnerable families, but are also validating our mission as essential. In addition to quickly developing daily digital programming and sustaining personal contact with our program participants, we are also reaching out to elected officials, starting at the municipal level, to voice our concern.Our goal is to ensure children and education remain top priorities as we rebuild our city. Following is a letter we sent to the Speaker and Chairs of the Finance, Education and Health Committees of the New York City Council. April 9, 2020 Dear…

Dear Speaker Johnson & Council Members Dromm, Levine, Treyger: I am writing to you on behalf of the Council’s early literacy initiative, City’s First Readers (CFR). For six years, CFR has been a critical initiative that has supported millions of families and served every single council district. Everyone loves to support this initiative because the work of CFR is impactful and joyful. What CFR partners have always known, however, is that our work is more than this. Our work is essential. As you develop the FY21 budget, the path forward must include an investment in programs that vulnerable children birth-five…

Literacy Inc.’s community of the week is Staten Island. We are unique because we cater to five different neighborhoods throughout the North Shore of Staten Island. Those neighborhoods include Stapleton, St. George, Port Richmond, Mariners Harbor and West New Brighton. Every neighborhood has different needs and we are there to support them through their schools, libraries, community venues and more.  We want to acknowledge one of our most valued community partners on Staten Island, Barnes & Noble. Barnes & Noble has donated over 5,000 brand new books to us, keeping our mission alive and thriving. They continuously show us love and support…

Literacy, Inc. joins the world in mourning the loss of Tomie dePaola, who brought joy to generations of children with his stories and illustrations. Together with a coalition of education equity nonprofit and library partners, we are coordinating #TheTomieLessons, a weeklong program to honor his impact and legacy. #TheTomieLessons will be launched today, April 3 (https://www.lincnyc.org) and will feature short videos, storytelling, and live read-alouds of Tomie dePaola’s masterworks. We urge readers to share their own memories of Tomie dePaola on this platform. Tomie influenced people around the world through the production of 271 books as either author or illustrator,…

As a coalition of nonprofits and libraries working to advance equitable opportunities to literacy and quality education, and a love of reading for all children, we join people around the world in expressing our sorrow at the passing of the great Tomie dePaola. We use this occasion, however, to celebrate his legacy and lift up the joy his words and pictures have brought to generations of children across the globe. We are mobilizing as collective impact partners to launch a weeklong celebration of his life and legacy through short videos and read alouds featuring the best of Tomie. The celebration…

Literacy Inc.’s (LINC) community of the week is Fordham and our team would like to give a shoutout to all of our devoted parent volunteers, community partners, schools and libraries. With your support, our programs spread the joy of reading along Fordham Road in the Bronx all the way from University Avenue to the New York Botanical Garden. Our partnerships open up a world of possibilities to the communities that we serve through the leadership of LINC’s Very Involved Parents (VIPs). LINC’s VIPs complete a rigorous four session training course and serve as literacy ambassadors in their own neighborhoods. Their…

We will not let the Coronavirus impede us from providing literacy support to children whose long-term progress is most affected by this crisis. Nor will it stop us from recognizing our honorees, Susan and Harry Newton, Tracy Dockray and Mark Rudd, longtime supporters of education in our city. LINC holds the key to continuing education for our children. Because we have invested in empowering our parents with books, tools, and resources to foster an atmosphere of literacy at home, our families will continue to benefit from daily reading. LINC is relying on the strength of family relationships built over the…