Early Readers Club Launches in Hamilton County

Joan Isaac, area director for the Hamilton County United Way, displays one of the early reader boxes.

Carmel families with kids up to 6 years of age can now enroll their kids in United Way of Central Indiana’s Early Readers Club.

Club members will receive 12 high-quality children's books each year for $20 a child.

The books will be mailed quarterly in packs of three to children’s homes. Anyone who enrolls by December 1 will receive a first shipment of books in January 2010.

The program is part of United Way’s Ready to Learn, Ready to Earn priority, a comprehensive approach to school readiness and success. Joan Isaac, United Way’s Hamilton County area director, said, “Young children need 1,000 ‘lap hours’ -- time spent being read to by a loving adult -- by the time they reach kindergarten. Reading is an essential skill that children must have in order to succeed. Parents and caregivers play the most influential role in encouraging young children to read. Children whose parents read to them become better readers and better students.”

Families can sign up online at www.uwci.org/erc. Or, parents can stop by any Hamilton County library to enroll their kids. Thanks to funders like United Way, Estridge and The Legacy Fund, as well as individual contributors, hundreds of scholarships are available to children in Hamilton County who are in need.

If anyone is interested in sponsoring a child, a gift of $20 will pay for one scholarship. You can make a pledge online at www.uwci.org, or by mail to: United Way of Central Indiana, 301 E. Carmel Drive, Suite E300, Carmel, IN 46032. Please designate the gift to Early Readers Club Hamilton County.