Families enjoy the story walk during the newest Lending Libros Little Free Library event.
Reminder Publishing submitted photos
CHICOPEE — On Sept. 18, the Holyoke Chicopee Family and Community Program celebrated the newest Lending Libros Little Free Library at Stephens Street Playground located at 29 Stephens St.
During the event, families enjoyed a story walk of “Little Cloud” by Eric Carle. Free copies were available for the first 40 children who attended.
Also at the event, families were able to check out the newest Lending Libros book bin and complete a craft.
The Lending Libros Project is funded by Families First and the Coordinated Family and Community Engagement Grant from the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care.
Christine Zaskey Cullen is the CFCE coordinator of the Holyoke Chicopee Family and Community Program. She also works with HCS Head Start, who administers the grant.
Zaskey Cullen talked with Reminder Publishing about the grant and project in Chicopee.
Parent Leaders trained by Families First have been involved in the Lending Libros Project since 2022. The goal of the Lending Libros Project is to provide easily accessible books that engage children, help parents and encourage reading and learning.
Zaskey Cullen explained that Families First trains parents and gives them workshops to learn and utilize leadership skills in their community.
“They maintained those little libraries, they fill them with books every week and that is their community project and a way to promote literacy in Chicopee,” Zaskey Cullen stated.
The goal of the project is to promote the joy of reading in all areas, not just in the home, help overall reading skills and instill the love of reading in the community.
There are now five Lending Libros book bins located throughout Chicopee including Lincoln Grove Park on 224 Broadway St., Sheridan Street Mini Park on 1 Taylor St., Fruit Fair on 398 Front St., Super Saver Free Dry Laundromat on 199 Exchange St., and Stephens Street Playground on 29 Stephens St.
Children and families are encouraged to read and take children’s books available in English and Spanish at no cost from these various, handicap-accessible locations.
“It’s also there if people want to put books in,” Zaskey Cullen stated.
The new little library was built by students at Job Corps during the last school year.
Zaskey Cullen said, “We’re happy to put it in that location so that families have access to books there.”
The grant serves all families with children from birth to 5 years old in Holyoke and Chicopee. They don’t have to be Head Start families. The purpose of the grant is to support families as their children’s first and most important teachers.
Zaskey Cullen said they have literacy programs, school readiness programs, baby groups, playgroups and parenting workshops.
“Anything to support the families in their important role as their children’s teachers in these early years,” she shared.
All the programs are free to everyone in the community and paid for by the grant from the Department of Early Education and Care.
