According to a recent article in The Atlantic, a typical child born to a white collar family will hear forty-five (45) million words by the time s/he reaches age 4. In comparison, a child born to a family on welfare will hear just thirteen (13) million – a thirty (30) million word deficit.
“In high-poverty neighborhoods, books—the very things that could supply so many of those 30 million-plus words—are hard to come by. In many poor homes, they’re nonexistent.”
“In 2001, Neuman co-authored a study that found that in a middle-class community in Philadelphia, each child had access to 13 books. In a community of concentrated poverty in the same city, on the other hand, there was only a single age-appropriate book per 300 kids—or about 33 titles total, all of which were coloring books.”
This is why your donations are so important. The funding of our neighborhood school libraries, in books and in dollars, can start to narrow the gap for our children. We are so thankful for the outpouring of support from people just like you.
“Contrary to the conventional assumption that academic interventions can only happen in school…some of the most critical factors in kids’ achievement involve family and environment. Ultimately, giving kids access to books may be one of the most overlooked solutions to helping ensure kids attend school with the tools they need to succeed.”
Should you wish to make a donation of new or gently used books, please contact Jean Warrington at info@historicfairhill.com. Monetary donations can be made here.
