Dear Editor: The Learning Center wants to thank all the young students and families of First United Methodist Church Preschool for their recent Little Ones for Literacy Campaign. The children donated over 250 new and used books for The Learning Center to distribute to needy Newton County families. They also collected enough pocket change that The Learning Center will be able to provide the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, a new hardback book each month for an entire year, to 20 children.

Research shows that reading, singing, and talking with young children has a dramatic impact on their ability to learn to read. Reading ability is linked to whether a child is likely to drop out of school, live in poverty, or be involved in criminal activity. The Learning Center provides programs for children birth to age 5 that increase the brain growth and language development that lead to reading readiness.

For more information about reading preparation for preschoolers parents can visit www.leapintobooks.org or contact Mollie Melvin, Executive Director of The Learning Center at 770.787.2778. First United Methodist Preschool is a ministry of Covington First United Methodist Church, located on Church Street in Covington.

Mollie L. Melvin

Executive Director

The Learning Center

Oxford