In September, Yours Humanly hosted Family Literacy Night at Cambridge Elementary School (Concord, CA), attended by nearly 500 students, parents, and siblings, who enjoyed an evening of book distributions, literacy activities, and dinner, provided by community favorite Los Pinos. Principal Joanne Wathen and several teachers were on hand to speak (in both English and Spanish) with students and families and enjoy time together celebrating books and literacy. For Cambridge, this was the first of two Family Literacy Nights that Yours Humanly will host as a part of our two-year literacy project designed to benefit more than 4,000 Concord elementary school students served by Mount Diablo Unified School District. The second Cambridge Elementary literacy night will be held in Spring 2025.

Spanish is the first language for a large number of Cambridge families, and their children are bilingual by nature of their classroom curricula and studies. Therefore, a number of the more than 1,850 books (15 titles) purchased and distributed by Yours Humanly were bilingual, by a ratio of 2:1, to encourage and facilitate student reading at home with parents and guardians.

Online surveys distributed via a QR code resulted in positive feedback to open-ended questions in both English and Spanish, confirming that these family literacy events designed to encourage reading and parent involvement are welcome additions to a child’s educational journey.

The Yours Humanly Family Literacy Night project is made possible through our Coloring Futures initiative and by a generous grant of $213,000 from the City of Concord. If you believe, as we do, that early literacy is the key to academic achievement, strong language skills, and lifelong learning, please donate today to help us continue to reach to students in need with the gift of books. View Cambridge Elementary School Family Literacy Night photos.