Parrott Foundation helps County Kids Read bring books to more County children

County Kids Read (CKR) is the recipient of a $16,000 grant from the John M. and Bernice Parrott Foundation to help expand its well-loved School Visit Program.

With the Parrott Foundation’s support, County Kids Read plans to:
● Carry out 56 cchool visits during the 2026–27 school year at five County schools, including visits to Kindergarten to Grade 3 classrooms at two new school partners: Kente
Public School and St. Gregory’s Catholic School.
● Distribute more than 2,200 new books to help build children’s home libraries.
● Engage 900 JK–Grade 8 students in Read Aloud and Book Talk sessions, including nearly 400 children who will experience the program for the first time.

Andrea Dawes, executive director at County Kids Read says the Parrott Foundation’s investment comes at a critical time.

“Demand for CKR’s programming continues to grow, with books distributed through the School Visit Program increasing 12 per cent in the past year. Local families are struggling against rising costs of living, and children from
lower-income families are twice as likely to fall behind in early developmental skills.

“County Kids Read works to provide every child in Prince Edward County, no matter the unique financial and
geographic barriers their families face, with a fulsome home library — a proven, significant variable in a child’s future success, regardless of parental education and income levels.

“Our School Visit Program is about much more than putting a book into a child’s hands. It’s about helping children discover books they genuinely want to read and creating interest, joy, and excitement around reading on our school
visit days and beyond. We are so grateful to the Parrott Foundation for helping us bring this special experience to hundreds more children across Prince Edward County.”

County Kids Read is celebrating the Parrott Foundation grant in the lead up to International Literacy Day on Sept. 8th, when Dawes plans to present the first International Literacy Day Proclamation to Prince Edward County Council.
CKR is also inviting the community to The Great County Read-In: a “flash mob” event for reading taking place on Sunday Sept. 13th from 11:30-12:30 in Picton’s Benson Park.

Co-hosted by CKR and Our Community Project, the event invites residents of all ages to bring a book and celebrate the joy and power of the written word by reading alongside fellow community members.

CKR volunteers will host a children’s storytime corner, there will be refreshments, and Free Range Poetry will be creating personalized typewriter poems. The event is free of charge but donations to support County Kids Read’s work are welcome.