Kicking off the March Break with "The Royal" Treatment!

County Kids Read consistently aims to create welcoming, accessible opportunities to reveal the power of "𝒂 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅'𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅". The generous support of our community partners and local friends is vital to helping young people discover the magic that stories and books can unleash.

This year, the “March Break Chill Fest” at The Royal Hotel in Picton provided County Kids Read with a cozy story-time setting in "The Parlour". This special event brought families together to simply enjoy the warmth of a caring community.

Together with The Department of Illumination, County Kids Read thanks all of the enthusiastic families who brought wonderful energy to this gathering; thanks also to those who contributed donations to our organizations.

And a huge “Thank you” to The Royal Hotel! The Royal graciously opened its doors and shared its beautiful spaces with us on this day. We look forward to planning other opportunities for local families to receive “The Royal” treatment!

An interaction with a story book that looks like this…

… quickly becomes an interaction with a story book that looks like this!!

There is nothing quite like story time by the fireside to spread warm fuzzies around a room!

“A book in every child’s hand”

"County Kids Read" In Action - FAMILY DAY WEEKEND EVENTS

WINTERFEST - London Avenue Park, Prince Edward Heights

Saturday February 17th  12-3 pm (rain date)

This beautiful sunny day was filled with joy, laughter, fun, food, and books! 

Many thanks to The Baxter Arts Centre and The Department of Illumination, and their partners Prince Edward Learning Centre and Greater Than County Youth Collective for organizing this fabulous community event.  

THE COUNTY FAMILY DAY - Wellington & District Community Centre

Monday February 19th   9 am - 3 pm 

Local families were invited to enjoy a fun-filled day of FREE activities, complete with hot soup and chili!  County Kids Read was excited to partner with the Wellington Rotary Club, handing out free books for children to take home and make their own.

THE COUNTY FOUNDATION - HUFF FAMILY FUND

County Kids Read is very grateful to have been selected as one of the fortunate recipients of a 2023 Huff Family Fund grant.

The increase in the number of children presenting with mental health issues, particularly anxiety, is on the rise.  Our project, “Building Mental Health Literacy” aims to support children by providing valuable resources to help alleviate mental health challenges and boost well-being.

Many thanks to Lanny and Catharine Huff and The County Foundation for their ongoing, generous support.

Refreshing Donations

Local supporters of County Kids Read recently took a fresh new approach to generating donations to the CKR mission.

When Tonja Buder and Mark Pavlidis hosted a holiday gathering with family and friends, guests brought special “gifts” - books to donate to County Kids Read!

And this year, Sheryl Herle hosted a seasonal “cocktails and cookies” event at PEYC where donations were collected for County Kids Read. 

County Kids Read extends many thanks to the generous donors who attended these events.

Authors, Authors, Authors!

Following Lindsey Carmicheal’s presentation of her book, “Polar WildLife at the Ends of the Earth” in November, County Kids Read hosted several exciting visits from local authors in December, too!

Caitlin Evans read to students at Sophiasburgh Public School from her new book, “Where Do Stories Come From?”

Lynne Grist shared her novel, entitled “Treasure At Sandbanks: The Key to Time” with the Grade ⅘ class when they visited the CKR Book Room.

Dominic Leslie read his book “Shirley Nix: The Snow Fairy” to the JK/SK class from PECI.

Local author, Lindsey Carmicheal, comes to PECI!

On November 14th, COUNTY KIDS READ was pleased to introduce author Lindsey Carmichael to Prince Edward Collegiate Institute's Grade Four Panthers.

Lindsey Carmicheal has a PhD in wildlife genetics and worked as a forensic scientist before becoming an author; she brings 20 years of experience teaching both science and writing to her work as a writer.

Lindsey’s most recent book, “Polar : Wildlife at the Ends of the Earth”, is a “stunning exploration of the animals that have adapted to survive - and thrive - in Earth’s harsh polar regions”. This lucky group of PECI students learned about the amazing arctic adaptations that allow animals to live in bitterly cold, freeze-dried wildernesses where the wind can blow harder than a hurricane.

Lindsey specializes in making all aspects of science engaging, relevant, and fun. Curious children and families are invited to learn more by heading to Lindsey’s website, www.lecarmichael.ca.

Fall 2023 Visits to "Book Room" and School Outreach

Finally, the leaves started to turn and it was time to invite our eager young friends to select their first books for the new school year.

From mid-October to early November, excited PECI students enjoyed exploring the shelves of the County Kids Book Room and taking home their just-right new books.

And, thanks to our keen outreach teams, Athol-South Marysburgh and Sophiasburgh students also had the opportunity to find their next new favourite titles when County Kids Read came to visit.

Along with distributing books to these schools, County Kids Read continues to supply several community partners with books on a regular basis. Currently, we are taking steps to expand our reach with bi-monthly book distribution at the PEC Fresh Good Food Market (both in Picton, and at the County Food Hub in Sophiasburgh), and by participating in local community events like the “Fall Family Open House” at Prince Edward Fitness and Aquatic Centre.

With Gratitude

The County Foundation delivered grants to several community service organizations through the Government of Canada’s Community Services Recovery Fund. The grant has allowed County Kids Read to hire a short term records manager who will access, recommend and implement a records/data management program designed to suit the needs of CKR.

Thank you, also, to our generous local service clubs - The Kiwanis Club Picton, Royal Canadian Legion Branch #78, and The Rotary Club of Wellington - for their donations and continued support of CKR. 

Local Author Caitlin Nicole Evans launches "Where DO Stories Come From?"

Local author and generous friend to County Kids Read, Caitlin Nicole Evans says that her new book, "Where DO Stories Come From?" is "filled with all the words from the creatures inside my head, and the paintings of all the things I love most (ice cream cones, aliens, and wiener dogs - oh my)!"  Caitlin graciously offered friends of CKR the opportunity to donate a discounted copy of “Where Do Stories Come From?” to the County Kids Read book room. Books are still available to order/donate.

In November 2023, Caitlin’s books will be available on her new website: www.caitlinnicoleevans.com. 

“Where Do Stories Come From?” will also be available at Books and Company in Picton, ON at the end of November.  Caitlin can also be found on Facebook (@Caitlin Nicole Evans) and on Instagram (@caitlinnicoleevans).

First Annual Back-To-School Backpack Drive - PECI

Baxter Arts Centre, Wellington Farmers' Market, market vendors from Picton Town Hall, and www.countyballoons.ca collaborated to power a "backpack drive" for children of Prince Edward County.

Generous donations of school supplies and backpacks were organized and distributed to students as they headed back to school!

County Kids Read was honoured to support this wonderful community initiative by contributing a new book for every backpack.