HCRW Donates 120 New Books to Bryant Woods Elementary School

On June 15, HCRW ‘Caring for America’ chairman Linda Rishell and fellow HCRW member, Boni Rekas, presented 120 new books to the First and Second grade classes of Bryant Woods Elementary School in Columbia.

During a special ceremony, each child received a book inscribed with his/her name and the inscription “Reading Rocks –We hope you have a nice summer.” As shown on the picture, the children were thrilled with their very own copies of “Solar System” (First Grade) and “Polar Bears Past Bedtime” (Second Grade.)

Each month, HCRW members Linda Rishell, Lee Williams, Boni Rekas and Harriet McInnis read to the three classes in each grade. Liz McNeese and Rose LaVerghetta also help. The ladies select the reading material and spend about one hour reading to the children.

Bryant Woods ES was initially chosen because it has one of the lowest reading scores in the County. HCRW began the program in 2001 by reading to the First Grade only. Wishing to expand our project, we added the Second Grade’s three classes this year. Then as the school year was coming to a close, we decided to do something special for the children and donate the books.

Finally, the children’s reactions can be summed up by the fact that one of the teachers had to admonish them to ‘put your books down and stop reading for a minute.’ After saying this, she smiled and admitted that she never thought she would be telling her students to ‘stop reading.’ The Howard County Republican Women therefore deem this program a HUGE SUCCESS and will be returning to the school again this fall.

If you are interested in helping with this program, please contact Linda Rishell at 410-730-1263.

Pictured: Linda Rishell, teachers Mrs. Corwin and Mrs. Sharpstein, Boni Rekas, Reading Specialist Vicky Lawson and children from Bryant Woods Elementary School.