By
Linda Breazeale MISSISSIPPI
STATE -- Two public agencies are joining forces to help
address the educational needs of children whose lives were
disrupted by Hurricane Katrina. "Operation
ABC - Read" unites Mississippi State University's Extension
Service and Mississippi Public Broadcasting to bring a
wealth of resources to the remaining shelters and recovering
child-care centers damaged by the storm. MPB received a
$75,000 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
and received videos and books from Sesame Workshop and
WGBH-Boston to provide educational kits to impacted
areas. The
Foundation for Public Broadcasting in Mississippi is
providing televisions with video/digital combination players
to shelters and child-care centers without similar
equipment. Marie
Antoon, MPB executive director, said Extension agents will
be the key to the project's success. "We
are counting on Extension agents who know the local needs
and can get this equipment and materials into the hands of
the ones who need it," Antoon said. "Public Broadcasting
stations and supporters from across the country have stepped
up to offer a variety of items for the resource
kits." The
kits will include items such as Season 5 episodes of Between
the Lions with corresponding books; Sesame Street shows,
game boards and books; Barney coloring books and stickers;
crayons and colored pencils; and other children's books and
movies. "People
like to know that what they are donating is getting into the
hands of the children. Our first target recipients were
shelters, but the next step will be to help child-care
centers that were damaged in the storm," Antoon said. "We
want to help them get up and running as soon as possible
with items that children need." Beverly
Howell, state program leader for Extension family and
consumer sciences, said agents are already delivering
televisions and resource kits to areas in need. "This
is a great opportunity to provide quality educational
materials into the hands that need it the most," Howell
said. "After these unsettling weeks, children will find
comfort in being able to watch some of their favorite
educational programs." Howell
said in some cases, shelter televisions may have been under
the control of adults who wanted to watch hurricane news
coverage and other programs less suited for
children. "We
want to make shelters more child-friendly and help divert
their attention from the more traumatic news of the day,"
Howell said. "We also want child-care centers and their
clients to know that we care about what they have gone
through and want to help." Georgia
Polk, 4-H youth agent in Rankin County, assisted with some
of the first deliveries. She took seven televisions with the
educational materials to Hattiesburg and Wiggins to await
transportation to sites in Forrest, Pearl River and Harrison
counties. "We
are all ready to do our part. I was glad to be able to
transport the items from Jackson to some of the hardest hit
areas," Polk said. Shelters
and child-care centers interesting in being a part of
Operation ABC - Read should call Mississippi Public
Broadcasting at (800) 922-9698. Released:
Sept. 22, 2005
Family,
Youth & Consumer News
Katrina
children...
Agencies
address educational needs
Contact: Dr. Beverly Howell, (662) 325-3032
Visit: DAFVM
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Last Modified: Friday, 19-Dec-08 10:29:10
URL: http://msucares.com/news/print/fcenews/fce05/050922children.html
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