Photo courtesy of StriveHigher
Olga Baez is so worried over the Bronx’s low literacy rates it compelled her to improve them. And she called on her local cell phone store for help.
“I know that the literacy rates in the Bronx are very low, so I wanted to start within my community a local storytime activity. Because I know the local library has a storytime, but they do it for toddlers; there’s no reason that kids that are a little bit older cannot enjoy storytime, especially elementary-age kids,” Baez said in a phone interview with the Norwood News.
Illiteracy rates in the Bronx stand somewhere between 24 to 28 percent, according to the latest findings.
Baez, through her nonprofit dubbed StriveHigher, partnered with the T-Mobile store on 306 E. 204th St. in Norwood to host monthly book readings. The store manager provides Baez with a section in the store for readings, going so far as to occasionally pay for the snacks.
StriveHigher is a non-profit that focuses on turning children into well-rounded individuals through financial literacy, education, career exploration, and wellness. Baez makes the readings interactive with different subjects that range from swimming, back to school, to the concept of self-love.
For Baez those activities are meaningful since she wants children see themselves in books. During “meet the author” events she collaborated with local authors of color as a way of creating a connection between the authors and children of color.
This month’s upcoming storytime focuses on author Milteri Tucker Concepcion and guest reader Dr. Janira Vega, a pediatric psychologist at Montefiore Health System. Dr. Vega will speak on her path to becoming a pediatric psychologist.
“I think that I have been able to build a storytime community. A lot of our kids and parents are returners so they come back every month and it has became part of their activities they do on Saturday, ” Baez said.
Editor’s note: Parents can RSVP to this month’s book reading at the T-Mobile store at the corner of East 204th Street and Perry Avenue from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. by emailing StriveHigherNY@gmail.com or texting (347)-974-1105 your child’s name and age.
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.
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It never ceases to amaze me that after all the federal and state resources and expenditures delivered through grant programs to NYC BOE in so called poverty stricken neighborhoods and all other federal and state entitlements from elected officials that flow to “minority” groups, immigrants and single mothers (not available to others), that so many children in communities across the Bronx remain illiterate year after year- so troubling. I would wager then that this trend is all do to parents that lack interest in advancing the well being of the child, sufficient for Olga to say- Enough! .
I cannot tell you how happy and proud I am seeing this article in your newspaper. I’ve read your paper since its inception and to see Olga Baez’s program highlighted is amazing. My family has participated in the pop up readings and they are growing with each one. To have children meet the author of the books they are reading is absolutely wonderful. What an opportunity. I thank you for highlighting Olga’s achievements for the community. As a customer of Tmobile I would like to thank them for providing their space for these events.