Durham, NC — The Durham Library Foundation today announced a partnership with Verizon Foundation to benefit young children ages birth to five in Durham’s family child care homes. Verizon’s $2,500 grant will support an early literacy outreach program at the Durham County Library. Get Set… Get Ready… Let’s Read! will bring good books and proven book-sharing techniques to Durham County’s child care centers with the fewest resources.

Get Set… Get Ready… Let’s Read! children’s librarians travel to 16 family child care homes and religious-sponsored centers all over Durham County in the library’s Discovery Mobile. Every other week for one year, they bring early literacy training to child care providers and expose young children to the magic of professional storytelling. Each month, they leave behind a new selection of high quality children’s books.

“Not every child can get to the library,” said Library Director, Skip Auld, “and now the library will come to child care homes with fun stories, high quality books and a specially-trained librarian. We want to excite the imagination of young children, to engage them in books and reading. Learning to read is the key for success in school and in life.”

“Durham needs Get Set… Get Ready… Let’s Read! to help ensure that children are ready for and succeeding in school,” said Karlene Fyffe, youth services manager for the library.

“We will have achieved success when the child care providers in the program are using books more often with their children, delivering educational storytimes and engaging children in early literacy skill development,” Fyffe said. “We would like providers to do this every day.”

The grant from Verizon Foundation will be used to purchase high-quality books and a laptop computer for the outreach program. Verizon’s partnership with Durham Library is part of the Foundation’s ongoing commitment to advance literacy and lifelong learning.

“The Verizon Foundation is proud to support innovative programs such as Get Set… Get Ready… Let’s Read! that improve literacy and promote readiness for 21st Century education,” said Irene Coons, Public Affairs, Policy & Communications - North Carolina, for Verizon.

About The Verizon Foundation

The Verizon Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications and supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education through grants and its free award-winning www.Thinkfinity.org website. For more information, please visit http://foundation.verizon.com.

About Durham Library Foundation

The Durham Library Foundation’s mission is to raise funds to provide a margin of excellence for the Durham County Library.

About Durham County Library

The mission of the Durham County Library is to provide the entire community with books, services and other resources that inform, inspire learning, cultivate understanding and excite the imagination.