Dodgers & 'Read Conmigo' Reach 1 Million Storybook Milestone
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation has partnered with the award-winning bilingual literacy program , "Read Conmigo", to celebrate the the donation of over 1 million storybooks given away since the foundation's creation in 2010.
The goal of the program focuses on raising parental awareness about the benefits of education and literacy.
More than 50 Greater Los Angeles Youth Organizations received free bilingual books during Thursday's event at Dodger Stadium.
To continue improving literacy in the Los Angeles Area, the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation and Read Conmigo distributed more than 10,000 bilingual book to participating organizations on Thursday.
The event was held at Dodger Stadium's Stadium Club at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday.
Former Dodgers player Manny Mota was in attendance, along with LADF Executive Director Nichol Whiteman and Read Conmigo West Coast Manager Fabi Harb.
Research has shown that a child's access to sufficient reading materials at home, as well as active parental involvement is essential to their academic success.
LADF and Read Conmigo hope to bridge the gap for many bilingual parents in Los Angeles who are not able to read to their children in English or Spanish due to language barriers.
For more information on Read Conmigo, visit their website here.
According to their website, Read Conmigo was created out of the discovery that many Latino parents, grandparents and caregivers who do not read fluently yet in English are hesitant to read to their children at home in Spanish.
Studies have shown that families play a vital role in childhood literacy. According to the National Education Association, 26% of children who were read to three or four times in the last week by a family member recognized all letters of the alphabet. This is compared to 14% of children who were read to less frequently.
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