Early Childhood Literacy in East Harlem

What problem would you like to solve?

more free programming for very young children to encourage early literacy and encourage reading as a fun activity for families and kids

Why is it important to solve? Why is it relevant for the community?

It's difficult to find free, accessible, and educational programming for babies and young children 0-5 in East Harlem.

What idea do you have to address the problem?

The New York Public Library branches in East Harlem are a natural place to offer programming for babies and young children from 0-5. The weekly story time at Aguilar Library, for example, had great attendance over summer and through the fall, demonstrating an interest and need for these programs. It would be great for the Aguilar branch to have the funding to also offer multilingual programming for very young children such as in Mandarin Chinese and Spanish, which reflect the linguistic diversity of the area.

The NYPL's Summer of Reading program where children and youth received free books was also enormously popular. It was great to see children excited to get books and carry the love of reading back home. This would be a wonderful program to extend or fund.

Who would that help?

Families and children in East Harlem

What neighborhood would benefit from your idea?

East Harlem