Crittenton Promotes Literacy with Help of Molina Foundation

Crittenton Promotes Literacy with Help of Molina Foundation

March is National Reading Month and Crittenton Services for Children and Families is doing its part to help give the youth in our care get the opportunity to actively take part in improving their literacy skills through cultivating a love of books.

Earlier this month, with the help of the Molina Foundation, Crittenton Services was selected and ultimately received a book grant that gifted nearly 2,000 new books for us to use in our educational programming efforts.

The idea here is to continue to build Crittenton’s school library so that we can continue to promote literacy through sustained silent reading during the school day. Teachers across the country use this educational strategy in their classrooms to help develop and refine the literacy skill-sets of their students. Having students take 20 minutes a day to read can help boost reading abilities as well as build self-confidence and nurture a desire to read.

A majority of our youth that are helped by our agency are for the most part underperforming in school and barely reading at grade level. It can be extremely challenging for the Crittenton educational team to help youth that have experienced educational disparities in their lifetime due to their involvement in the foster care or juvenile justice systems or youth that have experienced severe emotional or mental health issues.

“Oftentimes we have little time to work with our youth long-term to witness major improvement in their learning or literacy milestones, but that doesn’t mean we can’t assist in the here and now to help encourage our youth prioritize their own educational success. And this book grant given to us by the Molina Foundation will help us continue to build a school environment where we can show our youth that we care about their well-being and education,” said Cecilia Gonzalez , Lead Teacher for Crittenton’s Shelter Care Program.

The Molina Foundation is a national nonprofit focused on reducing disparities in access to education and health. In particular, the Molina Foundation prioritizes working alongside community-based organizations that help make measurable impact within vulnerable communities. So, when Crittenton Services applied for this grant our organization was deemed a worthy community partner for the Molina Foundation.

We thank all of our community partners that make it easier for Crittenton Services to help system-involved youth reach their highest potential. We could not achieve what we do without your support.

For those interested in helping us continue to make a positive impact in the lives of children and youth make sure to connect with us today.

There are many ways to get involved with us as we continue to celebrate 50 years of service! We look forward in building a new relationship with all that take interest in helping our mission.

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Crittenton Services for Children and Families of Southern California (CSCF) is a non-profit social services agency whose mission is to heal the wounds of abuse and neglect; strengthen families; and help troubled adolescents reach their full potential. Established and incorporated in 1966 Crittenton has a highly trained workforce operating 24 hours a day / 7 days a week providing comprehensive counseling, behavioral health services, and other support services to the clients in our care. We provide a full array of residential, in-home, community based, wraparound family services, mental health services, foster care, and transitional age youth services with a service planning area throughout Southern California that covers Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego Counties.

Visit www.crittentonsocal.org  to learn about our programs and connect with us on Facebook, TwitterYouTubeLinkedIn, and Flickr.