There is much evidence that when parents read to their children, particularly from the prenatal period, the child benefits, but so does the parent. As a result, by frequently reading with children we can improve our families, our neighborhoods, and the whole community.

And the economy. Children who have been read to are more likely to do well in school, to go to college, to become entrepreneurs, and to lead productive lives. They are less likely to succumb to teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, crime, or other harmful activities.

Lafayette contains two large book deserts, in which many homes contain few or no books.  Those areas coincide with the generous investments from the Pugh Family Foundation in J.W.Faulk and Dr. Raphael Baranco Elementary Schools.  These investments brought such quick success that the Foundation added funding for a third elementary, Alice Boucher.  This area also overlaps with donations from the Schumacher Family Foundation to provide free Internet to qualifying homes. The Northside, or Upper Lafayette, has other resources that are converging to improve the lives of children who live there.  Our first large, focused project is to impact this area, and are talking and collaborating with others to synergize in the Upper Lafayette Impact Coalition.  

The Acadiana Educational Endowment (AEE) is also encouraging parents to read with their children, in Upper Lafayette and everywhere, in several other ways:

Reading in Red: The UL Ragin’ Cajuns Student Athlete Advisory Committee is expanding their annual spring ‘Reading in Red’ program into a year-long event, bringing University athletes into local schools weekly to read with children, increasing and sustaining their efforts.

Reading with Heroes: In parallel with Reading in Red, the AEE is recruiting professional athletes, performers, elected officials, and other high-profile individuals to read with children in our schools, both to excite the kids about reading, and to promote reading in general.

Medical Provider Engagement: We have commitments from local pediatricians to add prompts to their Electronic Health Records, reminding providers to encourage parents to read to their children at all prenatal and childhood visits, and mentioning a ‘pearl‘ each visit. The involved clinics have the potential to reach tens of thousands of South Louisiana’s families.

Book Distribution: The AEE has been accepting book donations and sorting them for different audiences.  We currently have over 8,000 books in storage, and we are distributing these in several ways.   

1. Little Libraries: The Kiwanis Club of Acadiana is installing to TOLO (Take One, Leave One) libraries in local laundromats and barbershops, and they are buying five ‘Little Free Libraries‘ (LFL) for our book deserts. Local physicians have also purchased whimsical bookshelves for their offices, and we are supplying them with books to create TOLO libraries there.  We have commitments from local carpenters to build more of them for us.
2. Bouquinistes: We are installing bouquinistes, small used bookstore spaces inside of existing businesses in Acadiana.  We have installed the Book-Book Bookstore for young children in the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Carencro, and a bouquiniste in The Hive Market in Arnaudville  We have other locations that have expressed interest in allowing us to install small and large bookstores.
3. 1st Editions & Rare Books:  Occasionally among our donations we find books of increased value, and have begun selling these on eBay.  

Reading with Inmates: Two local sheriffs are working with UL Electrical Engineering Seniors and faculty to create a pilot program that will allow inmates to read to their children through the Internet.

Reading with Juveniles. We are also in talks to offer the Reading with Inmates project to local juvenile detainment facilities, to bring in volunteers to work with them on reading, activities such as chess, and other activities, as well as providing other needed services. 

Dolly Parton Imagination Library.  DPIL has distributed over 300M books to children internationally.  The Acadiana region has a waiting list of children who wish to receive the books.  We are in talks with local volunteers and organizations to hold fundraisers to fully fund the program, so that all children from birth to 5 may receive once-monthly free books.

University of Louisiana Students.  Several UL student groups have contacted us about creating their own initiatives to impact Upper Lafayette, including those in music, architecture, sciences/pre-professional, nursing, journalism, and others.  More news on those efforts is forthcoming.

Public Messaging: Several underwriters, together with Lamar Advertising, are helping us with billboard promotions, and these have begun appearing in the Lafayette market. Signage is also appearing on public vehicles. Both encourage parents to read to their children. We are expanding that program.