Last week, the READ USA team had the opportunity to celebrate someone who, in her own words, “has had a love affair with the written word” for as long as she can remember.
At the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, READ USA hosted a reception to honor Dr. Andrea Barnwell Brownlee, the George W. and Kathleen I. Gibbs Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Cummer Museum. We and Dr. Brownlee were also humbled and honored to hear remarks from the legendary Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole, who is also a long-time mentor of Dr. Brownlee’s and who introduced her during the reception.
Dr. Brownlee met Jeremy, the fictional storyteller of our Jeremy’s Journey children’s book series, a couple months ago and her book was officially released on Friday during a private reception at the Cummer Museum. The location was intentional – not only because of Dr. Brownlee’s leadership role at the museum, but also because she discussed the intersections of art, the written word, healing, nature, history, and more during her conversations with Jeremy. Many of these conversations are captured in her new Jeremy’s Journey book.
“You can come to the Cummer and leave feeling transformed,” Dr. Brownlee told Jeremy when describing how she considers the arts to be vital to our total development. She and Jeremy also discussed the three dimensions of the Cummer Museum – art, gardens, and education – and how important it is to explore the correlation between the written word and visual art. “The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens loved partnering with READ USA to create a series of Read Alouds about the meaningful connection between visual and written narratives to students,” Dr. Brownlee added.
Dr. Brownlee is also READ USA’s 2024 READ to Heal Award Honoree, and she’ll be honored alongside six other local leaders during the Peace in the Pages in Honor of Roseann Duran luncheon on Oct. 2. In her book, Dr. Brownlee told Jeremy that she is honored and humbled by this award. “It is truly a privilege to lead the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens. The Museum is increasingly leaning into its role as a community hub for well-being, wellness, and healing. I represent an extraordinary team that is committed to ensuring that the Cummer is a resource that brings communities together in Jacksonville and beyond.”
We are so grateful for your daily efforts to bring people together through art, healing, and the written word at the Cummer Museum, Dr. Brownlee! It was an honor to celebrate and recognize you among your colleagues and guests last week – and we look forward to doing so again in October!
READ USA is also thankful to Dr. Cole for joining us – who will also be our keynote speaker during Peace in the Pages on Oct. 2 – and to the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens for sponsoring Dr. Brownlee’s reception last week.
For $20, you can order a copy of Dr. Brownlee’s Jeremy’s Journey book here and coordinate pickup with READ USA.
Sydney King Joins READ USA as Development Senior Director
Please join us in welcoming Sydney King to Team READ USA as our Development Senior Director!
Although laser-focused on fundraising and development at READ USA, Sydney is no stranger to the classroom. After earning her bachelor’s degree from Florida State University and her master’s degree from the University of Georgia, Sydney spent 13 years as an elementary school teacher.
At Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina and at Duval County Public Schools, Sydney taught first and fourth grades and had a particular passion for teaching reading – her favorite subject! She is also LETRS-certified, meaning she possesses a deeper knowledge and skillset in instructing reading, spelling, and related language arts topics. Sydney also served as the lead teacher for literacy at her elementary school in North Carolina before relocating to Jacksonville – her hometown – in 2022 to join Neptune Beach Elementary School.
With her personal affinity for health, nutrition, and fitness, Sydney also served as an adjunct professor in Kinesiology at the University of Southern Mississippi’s School of Sports Sciences and at Wingate University. While in North Carolina, Sydney also served as the Director of Group Fitness at the YMCA of Greater Charlotte, a swim coach at TEAM Charlotte Swimming, and as an educator at Lululemon.
We are thrilled to welcome Sydney and her passion for helping elementary school students achieve their greatest potential – as well as her exuberant personality and fresh, fun ideas! – to the team!
We are grateful to have you, Sydney!
Want to Host a Book Drive? We Can Help!
Calling all Reader Leaders!
READ USA’s mission to close the literacy gap through high-interest books and high-quality teaching is partly achieved by—yep, you guessed it—putting high-interest books directly into the hands of elementary students!
We host or participate in countless events throughout the year where we give away hundreds to thousands of books, and Book Drives serve a critical need in helping us collect age-appropriate books to give to elementary students. Here’s your opportunity to support us!
While monetary donations are vital to accomplishing our mission, individuals and small business owners can also make a difference by hosting a Book Drive at your place of business. It’s pretty simple: you set up a donation bin, promote the book drive through your networks, and maybe even drop a few book donations of your own in the bin! That’s it! Plus, READ USA has resources to help you promote your Book Drive, including customizable:
- Social media graphics (created in Canva for easy personalization)
- Promotional flyer template
- Promotional email template
Our team can also support your Book Drive by promoting it on READ USA’s social media channels and our newsletter. If you are interested in hosting a Book Drive for READ USA, please contact our Book Programs and Operations Senior Director Stephanie Darilus, MPA, at stephanie@readusainc.com or at (904) 732-3872 ext. 104.
READ USA Participates in JWB Real Estate Home Giveaway
Our staff and volunteers had the opportunity to support something totally new and fun for us this summer!
Last week, JWB Real Estate announced the donation of its sixth home to an aspiring Jacksonville homeowner, and our team members played a role in helping select the lucky homeowner alongside several other local nonprofit organizations.
As reported by News4JAX, Ms. James, a JWB Real Estate tenant, was selected as “a deserving individual or family [to receive] an opportunity for a brighter future through homeownership.” All JWB Rental Homes were eligible to enter, and entries were ranked and scored by hundreds of volunteers – some of whom are long-time, dedicated READ USA volunteers! Our CEO Dr. Rob Kelly joined leaders from Lift Jax, Ability Housing, and Sulzbacher to serve as “judges” to decide the winning recipient among the top 20 candidates.
Congratulations to Ms. James and many thanks to our READ USA volunteers who helped during the process! Our particular gratitude goes to JWB Real Estate for the invitation to support this fabulous program!
Children’s Book: We Are All Neighbours by Alexandra Penfold
Illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman
When a new family moves in, the whole neighborhood comes together to celebrate their diverse community in this uplifting new book!
Let’s go walking down our street.
Friends and neighbors here to greet.
There are oh so many folks to meet.
We all are neighbors here.
Moving to a new place can be hard, but when your neighbors welcome you with open arms, there are so many things to discover and celebrate.
A girl in a unicorn print dress opens the door of her new home to find a diverse group of children on the sidewalk, ready to give her a tour of her new neighborhood. The girl brings along her mom, who is carrying a baby in a carrier; the family follows their tour guides past markets, shops, and homes and are greeted along the way by many friendly faces. As they go about their daily routines, the people in this city neighborhood are as friendly as they are diverse; everyone is welcome in this community, and they all take part in activities like filling a free food fridge and painting a mural. Happy people can be seen at every important location on the block – the library, a community center, and a green park with a playground.
So many cultures, languages, and religions are represented in the storefronts, restaurants, and buildings as well as the skin tones, hairstyles, and clothing of the neighbors. All types of family structures are celebrated as well, and the children all play nicely together too. The new family certainly gets a warm welcome as they move through the neighborhood to the repeated refrain, “What is a community? It’s a place for you and me. Come along and you’ll see. We all are neighbors here.”
Submitted by Kathi Hart, READ USA Content Specialist
Parent Education Corner: Teaching Young Children How to Have Thick Conversations
Between 80-90% of the brain is developed by age three, research says. Focusing on finding ways to better communicate with your child will have a large influence on how their brains develop. One of the most impactful ways to prepare children under the age of three for the rest of their lives is talking to them in “thick” conversations.
What are thick conversations?
Thick conversations are characterized by giving children many chances to speak and communicate, asking open-ended questions, encouraging them to think and imagine, and having many back-and-forth exchanges. It is best to create thick conversations in your native language. Back-and-forth conversations with your child will happen more naturally in your native language.
There are four main strategies for creating thick conversations: taking turns speaking, extending
children’s language, asking children what they’re doing, and encouraging higher-level thinking.
- Taking turns speaking or “turn talking” is developing a person’s ability to have a conversation. Even if a child is too young to form full words, parents and caretakers should pause to allow the child to babble.
- Extend children’s language. Caretakers can do this naturally by adding in more descriptive words. Instead of saying, “The fire truck is fast,” say, “That big, red fire truck is racing past us!” Parents can run into problems with this step if they push too hard. When extending your child’s language, it should always be a back-and-forth exchange. It always should be age appropriate – if you’re often in conversation with your child, you’ll know when your child feels pressured. You want it to be fun and enjoyable.
- The third strategy of “thick” conversations is to ask children what they are doing. This allows children to “own and develop” their own language. In the same way children are more engaged with reading if they choose the book, they will feel more independence and ownership over the conversation if it’s centered around their choices.
- Encourage higher-level thinking. Through conversations, help your child look beyond what’s right in front of them to create connections with the world. Say something like, “So, Leslie, that’s a really cool blue ball! You know when I think of blue, I think of other things that are blue. Take a look around here. Is there anything else you can see that’s blue?”
In any conversation with your child, what matters most is showing that you care about your child’s ideas and opinions. Enjoy your time together!
Submitted by Kathi Hart, READ USA Content Specialist
Do you have any questions or ideas for the Parent Education Corner? Anything you’d like to learn? Let us know here!