Dear Read to Grow Family,
I never imagined my first communication with you would be in the midst of a global pandemic. But here we are, taking each day as it comes. The dedicated staff of Read to Grow are all working from home while we've temporarily suspended all in-person services, including our 100+ remarkable volunteers who help us reach thousands of babies, children and families across Connecticut.
My 3 1/2 year old son, Alexander, asks me every morning when he can go back to preschool. We gently remind him that there's a virus - he calls it a birus - that's making people very sick, so we're staying home to stay well and to help other people stay well too.
Yesterday morning Alexander looked up from his cereal and said, "mama, I think tomorrow a dragon will come and it will breathe fire on my preschool and it will kill the birus and we'll go back to school and I'll see my friends and teachers."
"Wow! That sounds like a great dragon," I said, "what does your dragon look like?"
"He's big and red and he flies high in the sky."
"Is he a friendly dragon?"
"Yes, he's my friend, the helper dragon. He will make everything better."
Alexander's world is still small but he already has a sense of the magnitude of COVID-19's impact on the world and the people he loves. I'd like to think Alexander's dragon is a creature he's encountered in Adam Rubin's delightful "Dragon's Love Tacos," a book he and his brother Samuel request almost nightly. When children have access to books and stories, they are able to imagine futures and unlock possibility even on the darkest days.
While Read to Grow doesn't provide food or shelter, we provide the hope and promise embedded in books and the power of reading. I look forward to working with each of you to help ensure that all children in Connecticut have access to opportunity, regardless of whether or not we're in the midst of a crises.
Please see below for two important ways to stay involved today.
Very humbly yours,
Suzannah Holsenbeck
Read to Grow, Executive Director
