Being a LINC Very Involved Parent (VIP) is a lifelong journey filled with unique skill-building opportunities and exclusive training with our team, other education professionals, and community advocates, and this spring, our Very Involved Parent Academy started in full swing.
In each of the five boroughs, a select number of LINC caregivers began training as Very Involved Parents (VIPs) after demonstrating their commitment to supporting their community’s youngest readers.
The Academy trains parents to become literacy advocates in their neighborhoods and equips them to deliver community reading programs, spread LINC’s mission, and promote positive reading habits with other families. They learn about LINC’s unique history and approach, how to do a read aloud, and the varieties of engagement that exist. Whether they are spreading the word about LINC’s work, advocating for policy and systems that support young readers, or recruiting for LINC programs, VIPs are key players at LINC and in their communities.
I would like to help other families by bringing more awareness to LINC, being that LINC has been a program that has impacted our lives in such a positive manner. – David Serrano, VIP, Kingsbridge
Spring training was just the beginning for this new cohort of volunteers. They completed vision boards for what they would like to see in their communities and in themselves, and are prepared to take their visions forward. All of the trainees will lead a program in a garden or park over the summer, as they continue to learn and grow, and will take their early literacy commitment to a new level, promoting positive reading habits with other families. We are excited to work with these dedicated caregivers and watch them spread the joy and love of reading, and take a greater role in the future of their community throughout the summer and beyond.
Stay tuned. This cohort of VIPs is scheduled to graduate in early September.
For more information about LINC’s Very Involved Parent Academy, please contact: Jessica Rogel-Pohl at jrogel@lincnyc.org.
