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ST. THOMAS — The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI) is distributing 5,000 high-quality early childhood books to children, parents and hospitals, as part of the nonprofit’s Early Childhood initiative, CFVI announced Tuesday.

With a total retail value of over $60,000, the foundation was able to purchase these books at a minimal cost through its standing as the lead organization for the USVI in the national Campaign for Grade-Level Reading initiative. Throughout the course of the year, CFVI will be distributing books on St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix, according to the release.

Thus far, the organization has donated over 2,000 books to the Roy Lester Schneider Hospital in St. Thomas, and the Juan F. Luis Hospital & Medical Center in St. Croix. Welcome bags, books, and educational materials in both English and Spanish will be given to families upon leaving the hospital with their newborns, according to the release. Lutheran Social Services in St. Croix also received more than 300 books for classrooms at the two Early Head Start centers and a library at the Queen Louise Home for Children.

In addition, CFVI has given away over 100 books to families with young children at ICMC’s Jazz in the Park series at Roosevelt Park on St. Thomas. Over the remainder of the year, CFVI will distribute books to parents and families at various community events. The foundation will be attending the Annual Parent Orientation for the Head Start Program on August 31st and September 1st at the Sugar Estate Complex, and will be attending the Jazz on the Dock series on September 19th at the WICO Dock here. CFVI staff will give away books, bookmarks, and other materials to promote literacy and to emphasize the importance of reading to young children during the early years.

In an effort to promote best practices in early childhood, CFVI will be holding a Facebook giveaway from August 29 thru September 5. A winner will be randomly selected on September 6 and will receive a full set of each of the 8 high-quality books for their little one.

To qualify, contestants must:

“Like” CFVI’s Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/CFVirginIslands
“Like” the FaceBOOK Giveaway post.
Comment on the FaceBOOK Giveaway post, telling us your favorite way to share books with your little one(s).

According to the release, a main goal of the foundation’s work and involvement in Early Childhood is to serve as a facilitator of efforts to promote early childhood experiences that will positively impact children’s development, readiness for school, and later life success. Reading aloud from birth is associated with advancing brain development, language skills, and vocabulary, as well as building listening and memory skills, motivation, and curiosity. Moreover, this shared one-on-one time encourages parent-child bonding and encourages children to form a positive association with books and reading later in life.

Feature Image: On Saturday, May 21st student volunteers and CFVI supporters assisted the staff in labeling and sorting through books that were then delivered to various locations. (Credit: CFVI)