The Ellavoz Children’s Literacy Foundation (ECLF) announced today the successful visit by New York Times bestselling author, Beth Ferry, to the Oliver Street Elementary School as part of a grant program to promote literacy and encourage the love of reading. Mrs. Ferry spoke to approximately six hundred students in Kindergarten through 5th grade.
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Ferry, an award-winning author with over forty titles in print, took the students through the process of writing a book, from the idea to the first draft to ultimately the finished manuscript. She emphasized the importance of revision and explained how success in any field cannot occur without practice and revision.
The older students joined Ferry in exploring the many different ways writers and readers can enjoy words, by learning them, using them, and playing with them.
“I’ve never seen students so enthusiastic to play word games with me,” Ferry said of the third, fourth and fifth graders. “They were bursting with excitement to solve the puzzles I was sharing with them. It was amazing to see so many hands waving in the air. The energy at Oliver Street School was fantastic!”
The Foundation’s mission is to help promote literacy in underserved communities by encouraging the connection between authors, books, and young readers. Research suggests that if children experience joy when they hear a story or read a book, they will want to repeat the experience and read more books. And reading books is the foundation of literacy because it not only builds vocabulary and imparts information, but it stimulates the most important tool children have – their imaginations.
During its inception, the Foundation’s research team of educators, authors and illustrators explored many different ideas that could reinforce the importance of reading and books. What they came up with was something unique.
Recognizing that not every child connects with books, ECLF hopes they can change this by sending an author into the school. They believe that when students meet the author of books they have read, or that have been read to them, the connection between the author, book, and reader becomes dynamic and this dynamism can spark an interest in reading and writing that can positively impact the students’ future as readers.
The key is to create awareness of the author and to read that author’s books before the author visits for the day.
Prior to the visit, Oliver Street Elementary was sent a complete set of the author’s books to share with their students. With the school’s support and early involvement in the program, the students benefitted from the author visit in a more meaningful way. And the connection between author, book, and reader was further supported because each child was given a book to take home and keep.
Principal Luis Henriques added, “The visit from Beth Ferry was an extraordinary experience for our students at Oliver Street School. Seeing a published author in person brought reading and writing to life in a way that no textbook ever could. We are deeply grateful to the Ellavoz Children’s Literacy Foundation for investing in our students and inspiring them to see themselves as readers, writers, and creators.”
About our Parent Company, Ellavoz Impact Capital
Ellavoz Impact Capital, LLC, (EIC) is a social impact investor, advisor, asset manager, and real estate developer focused on creating and preserving workforce and affordable housing and other community-oriented real estate properties. EIC's strategy concentrates investments into price-attainable housing and economic development projects by working with socially aligned operators, local nonprofits, and governmental agencies to deliver positive community outcomes and double bottom line returns.
Ellavoz Impact Capital recently acquired the vacant hospital at 306 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. in Newark with the goal of converting the 104,000 square-foot space into new workforce housing apartments which are designed to meet the needs of young professionals and students seeking quality, price-attainable housing in an increasingly unaffordable section of the city. The project, known as Newark Commons, will create 42 new housing units consisting of 146 bedrooms, and will cater to the needs of today’s mobile professionals, essential healthcare workers, and university students. The building will also contain a 4,500-square-foot commercial/retail space fronting on Central Avenue, which will create further opportunity for street activation and a retail option in a section of downtown with few service outlets today.
Based in Belmar & Newark New Jersey, EIC currently has total managed and controlled assets with a value exceeding $300 million. EIC is comprised of certified public accountants, attorneys, as well as real estate, finance, and economic development professionals. The team has both private sector experience and decades-long experience leading large community development financial institutions and nonprofit organizations. Collectively, the management team has led transactions with a total capitalization value of nearly $3 billion.
For more information about the Ellavoz Children’s Literacy Foundation and Ellavoz Impact Capital, visit our websites at Ellavozclf.org and Ellavoz.com.
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