Celina Zacarias reading to children, Take 5 and Read to Kids! event. Courtesy photos.
First 5 Ventura County to Host Early Literacy Campaign with Free Reading Events for Families Countywide
VENTURA COUNTY — The ninth annual Take 5 and Read to Kids! campaign will kick-off May 2nd at preschools, childcare centers, and public libraries throughout Ventura County. First 5 Ventura County hosts these free community events to help raise awareness about the importance of early childhood literacy for the more than 55,000 children in Ventura County who are age 5 and younger. For more information, visit www.first5ventura.org/talk-read-sing
More than 60 local celebrity readers will be reading bilingual books to young children. This year’s impressive line-up of readers includes Congresswoman Julia Brownley, Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, Supervisors Kelly Long and Janice Parvin, County Executive Officer Dr. Sevet Johnson, Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff, Ventura County Fire Chief Dustin Gardner, Mayors, CEOs, senior staff from Naval Base Ventura County and many others.
Members of the public with children age 5 and younger are invited to attend Take 5 and Read to Kids! storytimes with a celebrity reader at select First 5 Ventura County Neighborhoods for Learning (NfL) sites as well as local libraries during their regularly scheduled storytimes:
- Rio Plaza Elementary (NfL classroom), 3300 Cortez St., Oxnard, May 2nd at 9:30 a.m.
- Ruben Castro Center (NfL classroom), 612 B. Spring Rd. Suite 401, Moorpark, May 2nd at 9:30 a.m.
- Sespe Elementary (NfL classroom), 627 Sespe Ave., Fillmore, May 2nd at 9:30 a.m.
- E.P. Foster Library on Monday, May 5th at 10:30 a.m.
- Port Hueneme Ray D. Prueter Library on Tuesday, May 6th at 10:30 a.m.
- Fillmore Library on Wednesday, May 7th at 10:30 a.m.
- Hill Road Library on Wednesday, May 7th at 10:30 a.m.
- Ojai Library on Wednesday, May 7th at 10:30 a.m.
- Santa Paula Library/Blanchard Community Library on Wednesday, May 7th at 10:30 a.m.
- Thousand Oaks Brimhall Library on Thursday, May 8th at 10:15 a.m.
- Camarillo Library on Thursday, May 8th at 10:30 a.m.
“We know that only about half the kids in Ventura County are read to every day. We also know that the more kids are exposed to language, to books, to letters – by talking, reading singing – in the home, the better prepared they are when they get to school,” said Petra Puls, Executive Director at First 5 Ventura County. Each child who attends a Take 5 and Read to Kids!storytime event will be gifted with a bilingual book to help build their home library.
Celina Zacarias, who was elected as the first Latina woman to serve as president of the Oxnard Harbor District, participated as a celebrity reader at a preschool in Oxnard. “I grew up in this neighborhood… I really want the kids to know there are other people who support, love, and encourage them to succeed. The kids need a role model,” shared Zacarias.
Ventura County Fire Chief Dustin Gardner said the reading events are so much more than an opportunity to hear a story being read. It’s also a chance to break down barriers in the community.
About First 5 Ventura County, www.first5ventura.org
Brain research shows that the prenatal period and first five years of a child’s life are critical for developing lifelong social, emotional, and learning skills. Based on this research, California voters passed Proposition 10 (a tobacco tax) in 1998 which established First 5 county commissions throughout the state to improve health and education programs for children prenatal to 5 years.
For more than 25 years, First 5 Ventura County’s investment, expertise and leadership have made a significant, positive impact on early childhood in our community. F5VC’s early education and childhood development programs – Neighborhoods for Learning and Help Me Grow – strengthen families and help ensure Ventura County’s 55,000 children age 5 and younger reach their full potential.