A week-long “Days of Caring” got underway Monday as volunteers prepared over 2,500 picture books to be delivered to New Haven pre-school classes.
The week of volunteer events is being organized by the United Way. United Way staffers were on hand at the Connecticut Children’s Museum for Monday’s book prep event.
Employees of the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven — such as Lee Cruz (pictured), Natasha Ray (top photo), and Dottie Weston-Murphy (photo above) — were there, too, volunteering their time.
The mountains of books included three “very”-titled wonders by Eric Carle: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, the Very Busy Spider, and the Very Lonely Firefly. The city gave the Early Childhood Council (formerly the School Readiness Council) $15,000 to buy the books.Through the Connecticut Children’s Museum, which used its contacts to obtain bulk discounts, the Council was able to stretch $15,000 into $35,000 worth of pre-school papyrus.
The books go to 270 pre-school classrooms around town, 90 of which are in private homes, the rest in public schools and community institutions, according to Mayor John DeStefano. “The best intervention with kids is early, not later on when it’s more expensive and a bigger” challenge, the mayor said.
“The 3,000 kids holding these books in their hands will have a great time for months to come,” said Tina Mannarino, the public schools’ early childhood supervisor.