Viviane – 2/12/10 – LINC

Today, Kyla, Naomi, Nora, and I took the subway to LINC’s (Literacy Incorporated) office on 27th  street and 7th avenue.  Before arriving, none of us had a single idea of what we were going to be doing during the visit.  Would we get to work with kids?  Maybe do office work?  Something else?  We were all eager to find out.

Turns out, this visit was more of a meeting.  We finally got the chance to meet Debora Mulrain (the person we had been contacting through email), who very kindly told us about what LINC does and the mission of the organization.  LINC’s goal is to promote literacy as early as possible in children’s lives.  This is important because kids that have the opportunity to practice reading (or at least be read to) before they start school have a better chance of succeeding.  But what exactly does LINC do to expose these kids to the joy of reading?  Well they organize many events where they partner with many neighborhood resources (such as libraries, health centers, shelters, schools, etc.) to show kids that reading can be fun.  One event, that Debora told us about was something called Pajama Night.  LINC partnered with NYPL (The NY Public Library) to organize a night where kids can come in their pajamas to listen to stories and play games.  I really like this idea because it seems like a very fun way to promote reading before bed time.

During yesterday’s visit, I learned so much that I didn’t know about the LINC.  I had a good time and hope to be able to work with them in the near future.