EUR
STG
WordPower, a pilot project implemented over the past year by the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) to bring books to the families visited in the East Region, (Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow), has been such a success that the project has now been introduced permanently in the region.
During the pilot period a total of 3,099 children received book packs from WordPower. Each pack includes books that are appropriate to the children, from babies to teenagers. Each WordPower pack contains four books and for younger children the packs also contain an activity book, such as a colouring book, puzzles, sticker books etc. as well a box of crayons, a bookmark and occasionally a soft toy.
WordPower aims to empower families, provide encouragement to parents and give opportunities to children and help them get school ready.
To further enhance the value of bringing books into families WordPower has published an information booklet for parents/guardians that provides guidance on reading with children, as well as information on joining the public library.
A suggested list of books to donate for Christmas has also been published by WordPower.
“With increased resources we also hope to expand the project to include families living in emergency accommodation and family hubs as well as those living in direct provision centres.” said SVP member Michael Boyle, whose ‘Books for Babies’ scheme in the Dublin suburb of West Tallaght was the catalyst for WordPower.
It is hoped that the project will spread to other parts of the country.
WordPower is also a charity partner of Scholastic Books. When members of the public order books from the Scholastic Books website they can choose to donate 20% in free books to a school or charity of their choice. Donations to WordPower can be used to purchase books from the website.
Donations of new books for children or financial donations to allow WordPower purchase new children’s books are needed to ensure the continuation of this project.
For more information or to find out how you can help, contact the WordPower Team at wordpower.east@svp.ie.
