Literacy in Community (LINC) has proudly served as the facilitating partner of the NYC Reads Initiative since its inception in 2014. With the inspired support of the Pinkerton Foundation and the additional contributions of The Carmel Hill Fund, NYC Reads has successfully built a continuum of literacy programming, from infancy through 5th grade. Each of […]

Continuing a long and strong tradition of meeting over the Presidents’ Day weekend, the 53rd Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Caucus convened in Albany starting February 16th. LINC recognizes the essential role that our New York State legislators play in setting the city’s education agenda and we were there to remind policymakers that learning […]

On February 21st, LINC’s Community Engagement Specialist, Arisbel Villa and Director of Community Mobilization, Corey Saxton joined the Bronx Senate Delegation Budget Forum and urged New York State leaders to make early literacy and early education top programmatic and funding priorities for the upcoming budget cycle. Let’s create mandates and resources that will foster greater […]

Shortly after announcing her three-point plan to improve literacy levels in her 2024 State of the State address, Governor Hochul appeared at the Bronx Children’s Museum to highlight her child care and affordability proposals.  LINC’s Senior Director of Family & Community Engagement and Bronx resident, Albania Jimenez was there and spoke briefly with the Governor about […]

As we enter the Year of the Dragon, our East Harlem team enthusiastically breathed fire into the passions of young readers. On Thursday, February 8, with the support of our longtime collaborators at East Harlem Tutorial Program (EHTP), LINC delivered an unforgettable afternoon of stories, food, crafts, and music to dozens of families and two […]

On Friday morning, February 16, LINC families gathered at P.S.85 Great Expectations School in the Fordham section of The Bronx to be part of an explosive reading experience! P.S. 85 had just completed a monumental book challenge with their pre-K through second-grade students – reading one book per day for a total of 85 days. […]

On Wednesday morning, February 14, over 16 local Washington Heights families joined LINC and Fidelis Care for a new kind of Valentine’s Day celebration: Reading with Love! LINC’s joyful early literacy programs are always infused with love but yesterday, they honored the many different bonds and memories we form with others and the unique role […]

On Saturday, February 10, 2024, Literacy in Community joined over 300 attendees from 20 different grassroots organizations for Councilmember Carmen De La Rosa’s inaugural Uptown People’s Assembly–a groundbreaking event rooted in the principles of co-governance and participatory democracy.  Councilmember De La Rosa’s District 10 includes three LINC communities: Kingsbridge, Washington Heights, and Inwood, Seven LINC […]

The year of the dragon is here and what better way to celebrate the Chinese New Year, than a good book and a whole lot of cheer!  On Friday, February 9, LINC families gathered to sing, dance, and read My First Chinese New Year by Karen Katz together at New York Tae Kwon Do Park on the […]

The LINC Advocacy Team roamed the hallways of the New York State Capitol building on January 29th and 30th. We met with a number of Assemblymembers and Senators who represent LINC neighborhoods to share a message about the importance of early literacy programming and the effectiveness of LINC’s work. Our state elected officials are key. […]

NYC Reads promotes early literacy in our communities all year long and ended 2023 on a high note with a variety of in-person and virtual holiday programs. Families received free copies of Beyond the Book: Books, Activities & Fun–a booklet filled with reading adventures for children, from birth to fifth grade, in addition to a […]

Thanks to the generous author and long-time literacy advocate, Brooks Olbrys, LINC’s virtual reading adventures expanded under the sea and into new neighborhoods earlier this month.  With the help of several partner organizations in Long Island as well as New York City, Brooks shared over 450 copies of his award-winning early chapter book, Blue Ocean […]

It’s a new year and LINC is thrilled to announce four new staff members! Each of them brings a unique background, skills, and set of experiences that will take our mission to new heights in 2024, and we could not be happier. They are excited to get to know the LINC community and for you to […]

Meet Arjana Topallaj, originally from Albania, a Staten Island parent and active community member with a passion for understanding early childhood development, and a master’s degree in clinical psychology. Arjana became a LINC VIP in 2020, and joined the LINC staff as the Community Engagement Specialist for our Staten Island team in November 2023!  Arjana […]

This holiday season, LINC’s Fordham and Kingsbridge communities united forces with SBH Health & Wellness Center in The Bronx to host a variety of caregiver workshops as part of LINC’s Family Engagement Series.  The series teaches parents how to make reading a valued part of a family’s daily routine and connect to other families, community […]

“I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies; education and culture for their minds; and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits. –  Martin Luther King, 1964 Nobel Prize acceptance speech Martin Luther King’s dream of justice and equity was deeply intertwined with education.  As […]

Support from our donors gives the LINC team the ability to handpick books with diverse and inclusive content, encouraging equitable representation in children’s literature that reflects LINC communities across the city.  We would like to share a list of books that we use for our programs and recommend for gifting! AGES 0-2 – Our Skin by […]

Despite the wind and rain, LINC staff and one of our dedicated Very Involved Parent volunteers joined a throng of people today to register their objections to the proposed November Budget Plan. The revised budget calls for sequential 5% cuts in November, January and May of the current fiscal year. Those gathered to protest understand […]

On Monday, November 20, LINC partnered with PS18R, The John G Whittier School on Staten Island for a special literacy program–one that united the joy of reading with the joy of cooking and eating healthy. The program started with a vibrant tale entitled Rico Eats a Rainbow by author Jessica M. Miller and illustrator Sameer […]

LINC envisions a world where every community uses their own collective power to make literacy a value and right of all children, and that vision grows stronger every day. Earlier this week, LINC’s voice got louder as our Professional Advisory Council (PAC) raised their glasses to little readers across New York City at the Brooklyn […]