HACAP’s Head Start program has received over 1500 children’s books through a donation awarded by Barnes & Noble’s Annual Holiday Book Drive. “Every store selects an organization, this year we selected Head Start” explained Judy Ryan, the Community Relations Manager for the Barnes & Noble Cedar Rapids location. “The books are provided through the generosity of our customers; reading is important to them and they want to promote reading for children in the community.”
The books were picked up on January 12th by HACAP Head Start/Early Head Start Compliance Supervisor Christi Regan. “These books will be a big help for children developing reading skills. It is important to get kids reading…the books will also provide more variety for story time.” The books, including popular titles such as The Little Red Caboose, Dora the Explorer, and Little Golden Books among others, will be distributed among HACAP’s 13 Head Start locations. Each of the 742 children enrolled in Head Start will receive 2 books; other books will remain at Head Start sites for classroom use.
Building better Iowa communities involves ensuring the success of our children. HACAP focuses on early child development to provide essential resources to children during a critical time of growth. Head Start and Early Head Start are comprehensive child development programs that serve children from birth to age 5, pregnant women, and their families. They are child-focused programs and have the overall goal of increasing the school readiness of young children in low-income families.