Junior League of The Woodlands Donates 1800 Books to Children of The Aldine Community at Annual Literacy Carnival

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- For more than a decade, Junior League of The Woodlands (JLTW) has been promoting literacy to children of the Aldine community through free Literacy Carnivals. This year’s “Super Readers” event, held on Saturday, October 14, 2019, hosted over 460 attendees at the Buckner Family Hope Center at Aldine and featured superhero themed prizes and décor.

The mission of the Keys to Learning program is to promote reading through Literacy Carnival in the fall, while adding in new activities and events that incorporate science, technology, engineering, art and math to form STREAM.

At this year’s Literacy Carnival, children enjoyed a show performed by Books ALIVE! about the book Me First by Helen Lester. While watching the show, families were treated to breakfast or lunch, healthy snacks from JL’s Kids in the Kitchen along with literacy-based placemats and giveaways, plus Tiff’s Treats warm cookies for dessert. But that’s not all! In addition to food and entertainment, attendees met real-life and character superheroes, interacted with 12 booths boasting literacy-based games and activities, got their faces painted, smiled in the photo booth, played in the game truck and danced with the DJ. Each super reader took home 5-6 books, made their own superhero slime, plus received a bookmark, a word search, their own comic book story, and a superhero rubber duck. The first 200 children to visit all 12 literacy booths also received a “Super Reader” cape.

“JLTW continually assesses our programming to ensure alignment with the needs of our community and partners. The rebranding and expansion of the Keys to Learning committee purview coupled with the refinement of the Literacy Carnival to increase the number of literacy activities at the event is a testament to our commitment to providing the very best programs. I couldn’t be more proud of their accomplishments,” says Allison Tinker, 2019-2020 Junior League of The Woodlands President

Together, 70 volunteers from JLTW, Buckner, and Aldine ISD contributed 325 volunteer hours on event day. JLTW would like to extend a special thank you to Buckner Aldine, Aldine ISD, Westfield Fire Department, Jessica Buono Photography, Tiff’s Treats, Taco Bell Aldine Mail Rt., and Chick-Fil-A Little York for your contributions to making this event a huge success.

Now that Literacy Carnival is over, JL’s Keys to Learning volunteers will shift their focus on planning their first joint STREAM event with The Woodlands Children’s Museum. “I’m incredibly excited to lead this committee in planning our inaugural STREAM event with The Woodlands Children’s Museum. Our goal is to co-create an event that encourages interaction between parents and their children while introducing them to how science, technology, reading, engineering, art and math interconnect with each other. It’s definitely an exciting time to be a part of Junior League!” says Kathryne Pruitt, 2019-2020 Keys to Learning Chair.

Junior League of The Woodlands is an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women, and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. For more information on Junior League of The Woodlands, please visit: www.jlthewoodlands.org or follow us on social media: Facebook /JLTheWoodlands, Instragram/JLTheWoodlands, or Twitter @JLTheWoodlands.

Photo Credit: Jessica Buono Photography https://www.jessicabuonophotography.com/

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