Phi Iota Alpha, Latino Fraternity Donates $1,000 to Purchase Bilingual Books for Haverhill Families
December 30, 2019
Haverhill, MA— Haverhill Promise, the Campaign for Grade Level Reading is pleased to announce a charitable contribution of $1,000 from Phi Iota Alpha to use toward the purchase of bi-lingual children’s books for Latinx families in the Haverhill community. For nearly 17% of Haverhill Public Schools students, English is not the primary language spoken in their home. Phi Iota Alpha’s donation will provide Haverhill families with around 150 quality bilingual books which include lines of text in both English and Spanish on the same page.
Phi Iota Alpha member Christian Ponce explains the reason behind the donation. “As a group of Latino Men, we inherently understand the value that comes from being bilingual but more importantly we understand that in order to prepare the next generation to succeed we need to engage them as early as possible.”
Parents who do not speak any or much English may not feel comfortable reading English only books with their children. Yet reading and speaking to babies and young children (in any language) is critical for building early literacy skills and preparing a child’s brain for learning. Ponce elaborates, “Making it possible for parents to read to their children in a language that they’re comfortable and confident in, helps them instill in their children a passion for learning as early as possible. It is how we make sure that this next generation doesn’t suffer from the many inequities that we may have.“
In addition to encouraging parents to read in their home language, bilingual books play an important role in helping Latinx children feel included. Bilingual books provide children with a story in their home language, and while the majority of popular children’s books have a glaring lack of diversity, bilingual books often have characters and storylines that reflect the young reader’s culture and race, helping them relate to characters and connect with the book.
“As Phi Iota Alpha’s goal is to empower the Latinx community we feel honored to help the next generation of Latinx in their educational progress,” says Bryant Laurino Boston University senior and member of Phi Iota Alpha. “The ability to understand multiple languages has become a necessity in our ever globalizing world. We are honored to help out those of the Latinx and other minority communities learn history and language through literature that encapsulates the beauty of Latin America and that bridges the gap between the Americas.”
State Representative Andy Vargas helped facilitate the partnership, as an alumni of Phi Iota Alpha. Rep Vargas said “There is something special that happens when parents read to their kids. As we strengthen our city-wide literacy campaign, this support will help encourage parents of all backgrounds to do so.
Haverhill Promise plans to order a variety of titles in the coming weeks, with a goal to distribute them to families by the end of January. The group plans to reach out to Haverhill’s Latino Coalition and those who work with English Language Learners at Haverhill Public Schools to help identify the families that will benefit most from the bilingual books.
About Phi Iota Alpha
Phi Iota Alpha is the oldest Latino Fraternity in existence, and works to motivate people, develop leaders, and create innovative ways to unite the Latino community. The Boston chapter (Nu) is made up of students from Boston University, Boston College and Northeastern University. More information about Phi Iota Alpha and its mission can be found at https://www.phiota.org/.
About Haverhill Promise
Haverhill Promise is a cross-sector collaborative between schools, non-profits, teachers, parents, health entities, early education providers, and businesses that are interested in playing a role in ensuring that all Haverhill students have the tools necessary to achieve grade level reading by the end of the 3rd grade. For more information, please visit www.haverhillpromise.com