Kent State University’s Community Engaged Learning (CEL) partnered with the United Way of Portage county to make reading fun for children. And in doing so, CEL has been recognized by the United Way of Portage County as the recipients of the 2022 Community Impact: Group Award.
According to the United Way, the Community Impact award goes to a team of volunteers that shares its commitment to transforming lives in the community.
United Way of Portage County’s vision of Portage County is where no child is without the tools to learn. CEL’s mission is to cultivate partnerships that educate and empower students to advance social change. CEL combined both visions by helping to distribute over 1,000 literacy kits to Portage County Kindergarteners in the spring of 2022.
“We accepted that award on behalf of the Kent State community,” Craig Berger, the associate director of CEL, said. “There are thousands of volunteers who have made this possible, and we thank and acknowledge everyone in the community that has taken the time to work on this project.”
The Literacy Kit Program encourages young children to read by making the experience fun. Kent State students and staff distributed literacy kits based on the book “The Pout Pout Fish,” which included the children’s book and hands-on activities created to improve early grade reading, encourage the love of reading and generate long-term school success.
“Hopefully they learn or remember that Kent State students care about their ability to read and remember that there was time and support put into their educational activities,” Berger said. “I think it's very important for Kent State to show that kind of support and this program and this particular project, the literacy kits, is a really crucial way of showing support for students learning in our community.”
In late July, CEL staff and a Kent State alumna, accepted the award at the Annual Celebration and Awards Night.
This is the third consecutive year CEL has partnered with the United Way of Portage to create and distribute literacy kits, and it plans to continue in the future.
“We’re looking forward to continuing to work on that project and working to make sure that Kent State continues to be a community that supports this initiative for the greater community,” Berger said.
To learn more about the projects that CEL are involved in and how to be a part of them, visit www.kent.edu/community.