DC Charity Spotlight: Inner City-Inner Child

WISH LIST $100: books for 10 children - the first they will ever own; $500: 1 family workshop on early literacy skills; $1000: books, bookshelves, and cozy rugs for 4 low-income childcare centers

Now here are two extraordinary statistics: 61% of low-income families have no books at home for their children, and 80% of their child care centers have none either. It's no surprise that children who don't grow up around books are likely to read poorly and read late. So Inner City-Inner Child focuses on creating a literacy-rich environment for the youngest children by working with the childcare centers in which they spend so much of their time. Dancing With Books selects six new centers a year for its interactive, book-based, arts and literacy residency. Singing and drumming the alphabet song in a traditional Swahili rhythm or using dance to learn new words, is just the beginning. Books, bookshelves, and rugs create classroom libraries and cozy book corners. On-site literacy training guarantees that teachers know how to use the books, just as family literacy workshops teach parents how to create a culture of reading at home. A six-time recipient of the Mayor’s award for outstanding work in early childhood education, ICIC opens a whole new world to children.

Connie Zimmer,

Executive Director 3133 Dumbarton Street NW Washington, DC 20007 202-965-2000, ext 101 innercity-innerchild.org