United Way of Racine County Day of Action Focuses on Literacy

 

Racine, Wisconsin (June 21, 2017) — Thousands of people from hundreds of communities throughout the world joined their local United Ways on June 21 to volunteer for the United Way Day of Action and make a difference in their communities. Locally, United Way of Racine County chose to focus their efforts this year on literacy. With the help of Unico, Red Apple Elementary Engineering Club, U.S. Bank, Junior League, and community volunteers, United of Way of Racine County installed five Little Free Libraries and refreshed two Born Learning Trails in Racine.

“To build an educated workforce, you have to start young. By providing opportunities for children to read and learn alongside their families, you set the foundation for the entire community to achieve new success,” said Rodney Prunty, United Way of Racine County president. “We can’t be more grateful to the volunteers who came together to provide these avenues for early learning.”

Little Free Libraries encourage all community members to read and share books. Unico, Red Apple Elementary, and United Way of Racine County installed five of these miniature libraries throughout the Knapp Elementary neighborhood. By visiting the 16th Street COP House, Racine Workforce Solutions, Knapp Elementary, and Pierce Park (Santa’s chalet), any community member can borrow a book, read it, and exchange it for a new one. The Little Free Libraries are a part of United Way’s efforts to develop Knapp Elementary, Racine’s first community school, as a hub for students and families to connect and learn.

Unico officials sponsored this effort as a way for their company to get more involved with United Way of Racine County and give back to the community.

“One of Unico’s goals this year is to increase the sense of community, both within and outside our building. We’ve been relying on our friends at United Way to bring us opportunities to do just that. When we found out about the Little Free Library project, it immediately struck me as a perfect fit. Literacy is not only a gateway to future success, but with the right book, it can be incredibly fun and fulfilling. Here’s hoping that the couple of enclosures we put together for this project do a reasonable job of getting ‘the right book’ into the right hands,” said Rick Gearheart, technology manager at Unico.

Born Learning Trails enhance local parks through activity stations that feature interactive learning games. Since children learn constantly, right from birth, these trails provide caretakers new opportunities to educate and bond with their kids. The Junior League of Racine sponsored a set of new signs for North Beach Park’s trail, U.S. Bank sponsored materials to repaint North Beach Park and West Park’s trails, and both organizations collaborated with United Way and community volunteers to renovate the trails.

“This kind of collaboration between businesses, civic organizations and community members is critical to making Racine County a thriving community,” said Jessica Safransky Schacht, education initiatives director for United Way of Racine County. “Thanks to U.S. Bank, Junior League of Racine, Leadership Racine alumni, and Schools of Hope tutors, the Born Learning Trails are ready for families and children to play and learn.”

Day of Action is a snapshot of what United Way does all year long: galvanize people around solutions to build stronger communities. United Way of Racine County’s collaboration to promote literacy with leaders, businesses, educators, and the Racine County community is one small victory in their fight for the education, health and financial stability of every person in Racine County.