DeWines Celebrate New Reading Nook at WIC Clinic in Lisbon

LISBON, Ohio – In an effort to create a lifelong love of learning, Gov. Mike DeWine and his wife, Fran, visited the local WIC clinic Monday where they shared a book with a class of Head Start students.

The DeWines joined the children at a new reading nook constructed in the clinic’s education/waiting room to provide a cozy reading space and books for children to enjoy as their families take care of business at the clinic.

The first lady read from “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle as both she and the governor asked questions of the children from the humorous story about a pudgy caterpillar that eventually turns into a butterfly, eating its way through quite a menu on its way.

They were joined by Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health. 

The Lisbon clinic is one of several statewide to receive the reading nooks developed by the Ohio Department Of Health and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio.

In the Lisbon facility, the nook was designed and constructed to look like a tree by Real Art, complete with comfortable green pillows resembling leaves.

Underneath are bins for books, and children are welcome to take the books home at no charge, according to Amy Cooper, WIC program director, who said they are replenished from donations, from the local library and from the Imagination Library program.

Each of the reading nooks features a QR code that families can scan to enroll their children in the Imagination Library program.

Cooper said the local clinic serves 1800 children from Columbiana County, providing a variety of federally funded nutrition-related programs.

The 10 WIC clinics selected to have reading nooks installed in coming weeks were chosen based on early childhood literacy data, participation rates in the Imagination Library of Ohio, kindergarten readiness scores and access to nearby library resources.

The locations serve more than 33,000 families each month.

Imagination Library of Ohio mails children a high-quality, age-appropriate book each month until their fifth birthday at no cost to the families. Currently, more than 410,000 Ohio children are participating in the program, or 62 percent of the state’s eligible children.

Fran DeWine said Monday she first became aware of the program when their own grandchildren were getting the books and she saw their excitement at opening them up to read.

The governor said adding the reading nooks and the Imagination Library program are consistent with what they’ve been trying to do throughout his administration by putting a focus on literacy and learning. 

“It’s one more thing that will make a big difference, he said. “What this does is gets kids familiar with books. We want kids to be ready for kindergarten.”

According to the first lady, they often encounter mothers with stories about how the program has changed bedtime for their children or how many books they read.

Research has shown early literacy is predictive of academic success, school completion and college and career readiness. 

“We are excited to collaborate on this project to benefit Ohio infants and young children across the state,” Vanderhoff  said. “We are confident these efforts to expand early access to books are key to improving literacy.”

While only select locations are adding the new reading nooks, all Ohio WIC clinics can assist families in enrolling their children in the Imagination Library program. ODH’s WIC program serves more than 135,000 infants and children up to age 5 every month.

Pictured at top: First lady Fran DeWine and Gov. Mike DeWine join children at a new reading nook at the WIC clinic in Lisbon.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.