More than 60 local volunteers have signed up to help assemble 1,500 Baby Bundles and deliver 2,800 books to daycares and preschools in the Brazos Valley as a part of the United Way’s Annual Day of Action.
A Baby Bundle is a tote packed with a book, handheld toy, and other helpful resources on child development and community resources that families receive through the labor and delivery departments of area hospitals just after the baby is born. Through this program, United Way is working to ensure every baby born in the Brazos Valley has a book in the home before their first year of life.
United Way volunteers have assembled more than 10,000 Baby Bundles since the program’s inception in 2016. Each year, more than 100 volunteers gather to assemble thousands of Baby Bundles at Day of Action. However, because of COVID-19 response and containment efforts, this year’s Day of Action looks a little different.
Day of Action volunteers will be split into two teams, one assembling 1,500 Baby Bundles and the other delivering 2,800 books to daycares and preschools across the Brazos Valley.
Volunteers will be split into shifts so that fewer people are gathered together at once and will also be required to wear masks and gloves, which will be provided.
“This year we have had to get creative to complete this project,” says Peggi Goss, vice president of community impact for United Way of the Brazos Valley. “We have incorporated shifts to assemble Baby Bundles with 10 volunteers at a time, and we have added delivering books to local daycares and preschools to provide the same quality and access to books while at the same time following social distancing and safety measures. We are so thankful to our volunteers for being flexible and enthusiastic about our Early Literacy Program.”
Day of Action is an opportunity for communities to come together and tackle the issues that matter most to them.
“Although the way we do Day of Action had to change in response to COVID-19, our mission with this project has not. In fact, early literacy has just become more critical,” says Alison Prince, president and CEO of United Way of the Brazos Valley.”
“Access to books at home and reinforcing early literacy skills is even more important during this pandemic,” says Prince. “Children are spending more time at home, so it only becomes more important that they have engaging books to choose from and read. And of course, it is always a great time for parents to read aloud to their children.”
This year’s sponsors are coming together with United Way of the Brazos Valley to give the gift of reading and promote literacy at the earliest opportunity through Day of Action 2020. United Way of the Brazos Valley would like to thank this year’s supporters of Day of Action: Junior League of Bryan-College Station, Mays Strategic Philanthropy, Books & a Blanket, Lock N Roll, and Half Price Books.
United Way of the Brazos Valley fights for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in the Brazos Valley. They strengthen the community by identifying the Brazos Valley’s greatest issues, engaging individuals to build strategies, and investing in change. United Way of the Brazos Valley invests through Community Impact Grants to local nonprofit organizations and Investment Initiatives including the Early Literacy Program, 2-1-1 Texas, Youth Leadership Cabinet, Volunteer Brazos Valley, and the Financial Stability Innovation Fund, to impact more than 60,000 people per year.
To support the work of United Way of the Brazos Valley and learn more about how you can become involved, visit www.uwbv.org.
