(June 8, 2017) This week, just before the official start of summer vacation, thousands of Worcester County elementary school children received free books from the McGuffey Bookworm Club, a 12-year-old project of the Worcester County Commission for Women.
Copy Central owner Linda Dearing oversees the program, named after the “McGuffey Reader,” one of the first textbooks used by U.S. schools after it was introduced in the mid-19th century.
“The women’s commission was looking for ways to give back to the community. Even though it’s not just a women’s issue, we figured that reading is a good thing and we wanted to help educate the next generation of kids,” Dearing said.
The program covers all Worcester County elementary schools, including Seaside Christian Academy and Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic School, Dearing said. She said from 7,000 to 8,000 books are given to about 2,000 students each year.
McGuffey is supported by Commission for Women fundraising throughout the year, as well as by the Friends of the Worcester County Commission for Women and donations from area clubs and businesses.
Dearing said books are delivered from the Scholastic Corporation to the Worcester County Jail, where women serving there pack the individual bags as part of a cooperative program. In return, they earn service credits toward their jail time.
“They sort out all of the bags according to grade level and for each individual school,” Dearing said. “I want to thank them for all of that help.”
Dearing was distributing bright orange McGuffey backpacks to second- and third-grade students at Showell Elementary School in Berlin on Monday. Each pack contained several books, as well as a letter to parents and a McGuffey Pledge bookmark.
The pledge reads, “I promise to be a faithful member of the McGuffey Bookworm Club. I will take care of my books and my book bag. I will read my books and share my books. I will read as much as I can this summer. All of these things I will do to become a loyal member of the McGuffey Bookworm Club.”
At Showell, the pledge was administered by Cpl. Mark Wolinsky and Lt. Scott Kirkpatrick, both of the Ocean City Police Department.
Wolinsky has a granddaughter who attends Showell and his wife is a former preschool teacher there.
“She knows a lot of the kids here because she had them in her class,” he said. “We always want to do something nice for the kids. We feel, when they’re this young and seeing somebody in uniform, it’s a good thing because they feel a little more comfortable around us and maybe they will come to us if they need something.
“We really enjoy doing this. Especially with some of the work we do, it’s just nice to be able to deal with the kids on a very personal basis like this,” Wolinsky added.
Kirkpatrick echoed those sentiments.
“To come into contact with them this early in their life, have a positive interaction with law enforcement and answer their questions and give them an opportunity to see us and talk to us, is so beneficial,” he said. “It’s a really great program.”
Dearing said McGuffey appears to be paying dividends in the county, with reading test scores on the rise.
“We have seen, through the reports of the last few years, the reading level of students in Worcester County has gone up,” she said. “Not to say that we made that happen, but we’re helping to contribute to that.”
To donate to the McGuffey Bookworm Club, contact Dearing at Copy Central on 11065 Cathell Road in Ocean Pines, call 410-208-0641 or visit www.copycentralmd.com.
Checks can be mailed to the Friends of the Worcester County Commission for Women at P.O. Box 1712, Berlin, Maryland, 21811.
Copy Central owner Linda Dearing oversees the program, named after the “McGuffey Reader,” one of the first textbooks used by U.S. schools after it was introduced in the mid-19th century.
“The women’s commission was looking for ways to give back to the community. Even though it’s not just a women’s issue, we figured that reading is a good thing and we wanted to help educate the next generation of kids,” Dearing said.
The program covers all Worcester County elementary schools, including Seaside Christian Academy and Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic School, Dearing said. She said from 7,000 to 8,000 books are given to about 2,000 students each year.
McGuffey is supported by Commission for Women fundraising throughout the year, as well as by the Friends of the Worcester County Commission for Women and donations from area clubs and businesses.
Dearing said books are delivered from the Scholastic Corporation to the Worcester County Jail, where women serving there pack the individual bags as part of a cooperative program. In return, they earn service credits toward their jail time.
“They sort out all of the bags according to grade level and for each individual school,” Dearing said. “I want to thank them for all of that help.”
Dearing was distributing bright orange McGuffey backpacks to second- and third-grade students at Showell Elementary School in Berlin on Monday. Each pack contained several books, as well as a letter to parents and a McGuffey Pledge bookmark.
The pledge reads, “I promise to be a faithful member of the McGuffey Bookworm Club. I will take care of my books and my book bag. I will read my books and share my books. I will read as much as I can this summer. All of these things I will do to become a loyal member of the McGuffey Bookworm Club.”
At Showell, the pledge was administered by Cpl. Mark Wolinsky and Lt. Scott Kirkpatrick, both of the Ocean City Police Department.
Wolinsky has a granddaughter who attends Showell and his wife is a former preschool teacher there.
“She knows a lot of the kids here because she had them in her class,” he said. “We always want to do something nice for the kids. We feel, when they’re this young and seeing somebody in uniform, it’s a good thing because they feel a little more comfortable around us and maybe they will come to us if they need something.
“We really enjoy doing this. Especially with some of the work we do, it’s just nice to be able to deal with the kids on a very personal basis like this,” Wolinsky added.
Kirkpatrick echoed those sentiments.
“To come into contact with them this early in their life, have a positive interaction with law enforcement and answer their questions and give them an opportunity to see us and talk to us, is so beneficial,” he said. “It’s a really great program.”
Dearing said McGuffey appears to be paying dividends in the county, with reading test scores on the rise.
“We have seen, through the reports of the last few years, the reading level of students in Worcester County has gone up,” she said. “Not to say that we made that happen, but we’re helping to contribute to that.”
To donate to the McGuffey Bookworm Club, contact Dearing at Copy Central on 11065 Cathell Road in Ocean Pines, call 410-208-0641 or visit www.copycentralmd.com.
Checks can be mailed to the Friends of the Worcester County Commission for Women at P.O. Box 1712, Berlin, Maryland, 21811.