First Lady Dawn Amano-Ige expands ʻOhana Readers early literacy program on Kaua‘i

First Lady Dawn Amano-Ige

Hawai‘i’s first lady Dawn Amano-Ige, together with state and non-profit partners, has expanded the ʻOhana Readers program on Kaua‘i. ʻOhana Readers is a literacy program that focuses on reading with family.

The program will offer high-quality, age-appropriate Imagination Library books each month to children on Kaua‘i who are four years old and younger. Children who register for the program will receive one book each month via the U.S. Postal Service beginning approximately eight to ten weeks after their registration form has been submitted. The program operates through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and is free of charge.

The program is made possible through a collaborative partnership between the Office of the Governor, the State Department of Human Services (DHS), the Hawaiʻi State Public Library System, and nonprofit partners The Dollywood Foundation, Friends of the Library of Hawai‘i, Learning to Grow and the KIUC Charitable Foundation.

The Hawai‘i State Public Library System is encouraging families to register for the ‘Ohana Readers program. Families who live in Waimea (96796) and Kekaha (96752) can register their children at the Waimea Public Library.

“Research shows that children are ready to learn in their earliest years, and this program provides no-cost opportunities for learning from birth through age four. ʻOhana Readers encourages family read-aloud time, an activity that increases the vocabulary and language skills of our children and contributes to their growing knowledge of the world,” said Amano-Ige.

“This program encourages the youngest members of our community to develop a love of reading that will be important throughout their entire lives. The Hawai‘i State Public Library System is very excited to partner with the ʻOhana Readers program by being a place for families to sign up their little ones for story times at the Waimea Public Library to complement the books being mailed out,” said State Librarian Stacey Aldrich.

“The ‘Ohana Readers program sends books directly to the home where families can together establish a lifelong love of reading. Friends of the Library of Hawai’i is pleased to be a part of expanding this popular program to families in the Waimea and Kekaha communities,” said Nainoa Mau, executive director of Friends of the Library of Hawai‘i.

For more information about the ʻOhana Readers program on Kaua‘i contact Michelle Young, branch manager at the Waimea Public Library at (808) 338-6848.

Photo courtesy from the Office of the Governor, State of Hawai'i