United Way of Central Kansas wrapped up its delivery of Literacy Kits earlier this month with deliveries to Otis-Bison Elementary School and Holy Family School in Great Bend, said UWCK Executive Director Julie Bugner-Smith.
Pre-K students who attended their kindergarten roundups received a monkey bag full of goodies from UWCK to help them prepare for school next fall. In each bag was a book, “Curious George’s First Day of School”; worksheets and lists recommended by teachers to help the students be ready for school; Usborne alphabet book donated by Lacey Bonine for children to start practicing their letters; and number and letter flashcards printed and cut by OPI to help them recognize numbers and letters.
“This is the second year that United Way has undertaken this project, with more than 600 Literacy Kits being given out in Barton and Pawnee counties,” Smith said. The project was supported in large part with volunteer hours the first year, with many organizations and businesses cutting out more than 12,600 individual flash cards that first year.
This year, on May 5, Terry and Kenny Vink with OPI got the opportunity to see firsthand the impact and excitement of the children who receive these Literacy Kits, when they helped deliver 40 kits to Holy Family School.
United Way of Central Kansas, along with OPI, will be bringing this Community Impact Program back for another year in 2018.