When the book opened and the reader began, “From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere . . .,” Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Head Start/Early Head Start preschoolers sat in rapt attention.
In celebration of the nationwide Read Across America Day and Dr. Seuss’ birthday on Friday, March 1, SIUE Head Start and the Gateway Chapter of the Links, Incorporated promoted literacy with the reading of Dr. Seuss’ One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish at Head Start’s Discovery Center for Little Scholars at the East St. Louis Higher Education Campus.
The Links also donated more than $1,000 in merchandise to various SIUE Head Start centers throughout St. Clair County. The women’s organization gave away tables, soil for gardening, a microwave, a Keurig, a white board and four cozy corner canopies.
“We are a service organization that believes in the importance of literacy and education,” said Judith Griffin, chair of the Links’ Services to Youth Facet. “We have long contributed to not for profit organizations in Illinois and Missouri. This is not the first time that we’ve given to SIUE Head Start.”
Link member Patricia Wharton, who helped coordinate the donation and literacy event, recommended SIUE Head Start to be a donor recipient. Reading for the day was Link member Bonnie Gipson.
“We were more than happy to coordinate this important event with the Gateway Chapter of the Links,” said Heidi Eichenseer, Discovery Center coordinator. “We have coordinators from seven of our Head Start centers today, and each center will receive one of the gifts donated by the Links.”
The Links, Incorporated, one of the country’s oldest and largest service organizations, is an international, not-for-profit corporation established in 1946. Membership consists of more than 15,000 professional women of color in 288 chapters in 42 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and the United Kingdom. The key programming initiatives are organized into five facets: Services to Youth, The Arts, National Trends and Services, International Trends and Services, and Health and Human Services. The Gateway Chapter of the Links, Incorporated, was chartered in 1986.
The SIUE Head Start/Early Head Start program serves more than 1,700 families and youth from birth to age five (including children with special needs) in St. Clair County. The program includes 14 early childhood centers, seven managed directly and seven collaborations. Services include a rigorous school readiness comprehensive program that includes educational programs for family members, and health and dental screenings.
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Members of the Gateway Chapter of the Links, Incorporated donated merchandise to SIUE Head Start/Early Head Start during Read Across America Day.