The J.C. Holliday Memorial Library staff will work hand-in-hand with staff members from the State Employees Credit Union (SECU) of Clinton and the Sampson Regional Medical Center to bring kids across the county the chance to unearth their stories throughout July.
July’s Select Summer Reading Events will be held across multiple libraries across Sampson County. This month, there are four different events: Money Smart Kids presented by SECU; Create Your Own Dino Reading Buddy; Teddy Bear Clinic Story Times presented by Sampson Regional Medical Center; and finally, Unearth a Story with a Lego lab.
“We’re really excited for July to be partnering with two different organizations in the community for them to offer events for the kids.” Library Director Kelsey Edwards explained. “I think that Money Smart Kids being presented by SECU of Clinton is going to be a fun way for kids to learn more about how to be smart with their money. With Storytimes, we have partnered with Sampson Regional, where kids will learn more about what it’s like whenever they go to the doctor, and they’re encouraged to bring their favorite doll or stuffed animal with them to give them a check-up.”
Every event, except the Teddy Bear Clinic, will be available at the four library branches within Roseboro, Newton Grove, Garland and Clinton. Money Smart Kids will kick off the schedule on Tuesday, July 7 at 10:30 a.m. at the Miriam Lamb Memorial Library in Garland and then at 2:30 p.m. at the Roseboro Public Library. On July 23, the event will be available at the J.C. Holliday Memorial Library at 10:30 a.m. and then at 2:30 p.m. at the Bryan Memorial Library in Newton Grove
The Create Your Own Dino event will have drop-in times between 10 a.m. and noon for kids, starting on July 9 at J.C. Holliday Memorial Library, July 20 at Roseboro Public Library, July 27 at Bryan Memorial Library and July 28 at Miriam Lamb Memorial Library. The Teddy Bear Clinic is hosted at 10:30 a.m. on July 13 at the J.C. Holliday Memorial Library and then on July 16 at the Bryan Memorial Library. The LEGO lab will be an hour-long event between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., beginning on July 13 at Roseboro Public Library, July 20 at Bryan Memorial Library, July 21 at Miriam Lamb Memorial Library, and ending on July 29 at J.C. Holliday Memorial Library.
“For any of our summer reading events, we’re hoping to provide something that’s fun and also educational during the summer,” Edwards said. “So that the kids are still at least learning while they’re out of school. But another big part of our summer reading is our Summer Reading Challenge, which is going on until Friday, July 31, so it’s not too late for the kids to come by. They’re able to get up to four prizes for a certain amount of reading. Any reading past that mark, they get drawing entries towards bigger prizes.”
Children who are in preschool, all the way up to 12th graders, are able to participate in the reading challenge. To Edwards, that’s one of the ways to keep the kids interested in reading, especially during the summer. The reading prize challenge is also sponsored by the Athenia Lanier Club, Chapman Family Enterprises, Courtney’s of Roseboro, Don Agustin Restaurant, Hog Slat in Newton Grove, Pizza Inn, Salem Pizza and the Sampson County Partnership for Children.
“It’s very important to encourage them to read in the summer, because it helps to avoid losing some of their reading proficiency,” she emphasized. “That’s usually called summer slide. So we’re trying to help them become interested in reading to combat that summer slide.”
An estimated 60 percent of students lose reading proficiency, experiencing the summer slide that Edwards is referring to, according to teachers in a data report done by Worldmetrics, an independent research platform. Of their peers, low-income students are twice as likely to experience summer learning loss. These factors are due to a lack of access to books, resources, and other essentials that students are provided with during the school year.