The Old National Bank Foundation granted $7,500 to Read to Grow Children’s Book Club a program of Kosciusko Literacy Services. Pictured: First Row from Old National Bank — Sandra Para, Warsaw Banking  Center Manager; Wendell Bontrager, Region President; John Warren, Market President; From Kosciusko Literacy Services Cynthia Cates, Executive Director; David Neff, Board President; Chad Miner, Board Treasurer; and Tammy Allen, Board Member. Back Row: From Old National Bank — Bruno Riboni, Investment Officer III, Vice President; Emily Wissel, Community Relations Manager, AVP; Gary Shearer, Client Advisor Manager, Senior Vice President; Shelton Hawkins, Mortgage Loan Originator; and Josh Gordon, Commercial Relations Manager II Vice President.

By CYNTHIA L. CATES
Executive Director, Kosciusko Literacy Services

KOSCIUSKO COUNTY — The Old National Bank Foundation has awarded $7,500 to Read to Grow Children’s Book Club a program of Kosciusko Literacy Services. Kosciusko Literacy Services is honored to receive the support of the Old National Bank Foundation. The Old National Bank Foundation makes charitable donations to nonprofit organizations to fund large scope and large impact programs and/or projects with measurable outcomes.

The Old National Bank Foundation is part of Old National Bank’s overall Grants and Sponsorships initiative, which enables Old National to support programs that improve quality of life in areas of Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Michigan where their clients, associates, and shareholders live and work.

Read to Grow Children’s Book Club has helped children from low income homes enter kindergarten on par with their peers and continue their academic success. The children enter kindergarten with pre-literacy skills necessary to continue learning. The pre-literacy skills are vocabulary, print motivation, the enjoyment of books, phonological awareness, narrative skills, letter knowledge, and print awareness.

The early development of these skills is necessary for future success in school. Since the inception of Read to Grow Children’s Book Club, the improvement in the percentage of children on the Free and Reduced Lunch Program passing the Language Arts portion of the third grade ISTEP shows a 96 percent correlation rate with the percentage of the Free and Reduced Lunch Program children who were enrolled in Read to Grow Children’s Book Club. In the fall of 2014, over 45 percent of the Read to Grow Children’s Book Club graduates made the honor roll in third grade. 

Kosciusko Literacy Services’ Read to Grow Children’s Book Club is an on-going program addressing the lack of basic skills low income children have when entering the school system. The Read to Grow Children’s Book Club has served Kosciusko County as a United Way partner program since 2006. The Read to Grow Children’s Book Club provides one book a month to each registered, preschool child living below the 150 percent of the poverty level.

The enrollment averages over 550 children each month. By placing the books in the home, Kosciusko Literacy Services addresses one of the main reasons children have low skills when entering school; the lack of reading material in the home. The parents sign an agreement to read regularly to their child. Reading to children at an early age helps the child’s brain to develop language and reading skills.

This program helps the child have the necessary skills to be ready for school and to continue learning.  The program is very tangible, the books belong to the child and are in the child’s home. In addition to the child’s brain being stimulated and the books being available on a daily basis, an indirect outcome of this program is that the bond between parent and child is enhanced during the quality interaction of reading stories. Stronger families and improved educational capacity of the child builds stronger and more productive communities. This program has proven, positive results.