Chapter 22 UM-UMBC is proud to support the national Phi Kappa Phi priority on literacy programs. Our chapter operates an exciting partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL) and the St. Vincent De Paul Early Head Start Center. The vision of DPIL is to increase early childhood literacy and encourage a love of reading and learning in children and their families.
Currently, 48 children receive a book each month and 32 children have graduated from our program—by entering kindergarten!— since 2015. Our chapter’s goal is to serve 80 children and their families in the Park Heights community in Baltimore that faces many socioeconomic challenges.
On our recent visit to the Center, we were delighted to hear the enthusiastic comments about the impact of our chapter’s DPIL on the children and families. We learned that the children in our program:
- call out to their mothers when the mail arrives, eager to see if it includes a wrapped book with their name in it
- ask their parents to read the books to them, or read the books themselves
- delight in being able to keep the books and proudly carry their books around with them
- are learning new words and understand the pictures
- pay attention to and comprehend the stories
- feel confident and good about themselves, as well as special and important, because they receive the gift of books of their own
The cost of providing one book per month for one child from birth to age five years is $125. Our PKP chapter is committed to enrolling as many children as possible for the full five years of monthly books, while also enrolling older children to receive books up to their fifth birthdays.
Our literacy project includes a formal fund-raising campaign with members and friends via email once a year, during the week of Thanksgiving. Watch for that campaign this year if you would like to be a part of this exciting venture.
Our PKP chapter is firmly committed to this literacy project, and we will continue to work toward our ultimate goal of funding 80 children in the program. We know we are making a difference in the lives of children in Baltimore!
