"My son, Henry, absolutely loved the I LIKE ME book. In fact, it was the first book he has shown a strong interest in learning to read. Every night from the day he brought the book home, he has worked diligently to read it to us. Self esteem is an especially important concern for us in our family. Henry is adopted. I LIKE ME! is a big boost for that effort! Bless you for the work you’re doing to help kids feel good about themselves!" Dawn Price, Parent, Des Moines, IA "The I LIKE ME! Program provided us with the opportunity to partner with our school system in an extremely positive and meaningful way. We look forward to future sponsorships. Thank you for assisting us in placing books in the hands of our youth." Joe Kennedy, Midland National Bank, Newton, KS We attended a recent volunteer meeting held at the Clarion Hotel in Hot Springs, Arkansas and were all wearing our volunteer shirts. A woman in the lobby came up to me, excitedly asking if I was one of the volunteers who worked with I LIKE ME ! I said, yes, I was. She exclaimed, ‘YOU did the I LIKE ME! books! My son received one and he carries it everywhere with him!’ What an impact our volunteers are making!" Dorothy Henninger, Volunteer, Little Rock, AR "I wish all of you could have seen the faces of my twenty-five kindergarten children as they received their I LIKE ME! books last week. Seeing their names in print as well as their friends’ names made their faces light up with delight. This is a wonderful investment that the Rotarians and Pioneers have made. Our children are our most precious commodity and the more we can do to help them understand that we care about them and their future, the better off our world will be. As they read their books, I am sure that it will help make this clearer to them. Again, please accept my thanks as well as the thanks from the children. They have really enjoyed having the other children autograph the books. I know they will always be a special part of their home library." Rebecca Miller, Kindergarten Teacher, Decker Elementary School, Vincennes, IN "I personally participated in this book project and it is my opinion that the I LIKE ME! books impacted the children in a positive way that I have never before witnessed in such young children. The looks of pleasure and excitement when the children recognized their name and the names of their friends, teacher, principal and school in their books were almost beyond description. Having now participated in two I LIKE ME! book distributions, I am of the opinion that this program is an excellent program with which to stimulate the desire to read and to build self-esteem in young children just starting their educational process. Needless to say, I recommend this book program at every opportunity." William M. Frew, Past District Governor, District 5810, TX "It was fun for the members of the Vincennes Rotary Club to see children open their personalized books for the first time. The children often giggled with delight as they found their names, names of friends, teachers and principals in the text. Their giggles and smiles brought smiles to the faces of Rotarians, and even a few tears. One Rotarian from our club who hadn’t visited an elementary classroom for many years was so touched that he shed a few tears when a kindergartner read the I LIKE ME! book to him. The children not only read the books in their classrooms, but also at home with their families. This program was such a huge success that we plan to offer I LIKE ME! books to kindergartners for many years to come." Emily Bunyan, Librarian, Member of Vincennes Rotary Club, Vincennes, IN (involved Pioneers and Rotarians) "On behalf of my kindergarten class, I would like to say thank you very much for the wonderful I LIKE ME! storybooks they have just received! The books are simply wonderful! They are so professionally done! I just love the large and bold printing in the books. The boys and girls were so excited to see their names in print so many times! I also really appreciate the fact that you all came to our classroom to deliver the books and interact with the children. They really enjoyed visiting with you and even getting your autographs! There is nothing more important to a kindergartner than learning about positive self-image and also learning to love books and reading itself. Your gift to them was so very special. I would like to thank you most sincerely for all of your efforts. Please know that it was certainly appreciated by one and all. Please express our thanks to the Pioneers, the Rotary Club, Union Planters Bank, AT&T and all others who were instrumental in this project." Carol Thompson, Teacher, South Knox Elementary, Vincennes, IN "We have partners all over the country - partners that are doing exciting things like you are with I LIKE ME! all over the country, along the lines of reading, technology, higher standards, and parent involvement. The purpose here is not only to celebrate your achievements with I LIKE ME! but to invite you to work with some of the other 4,300 partners all over the country - to replicate your I LIKE ME! accomplishment, all over the nation. The I LIKE ME! program is a wonderful, wonderful project, because reading is not just a subject, reading is a skill - a skill that is key to all learning." G. Mario Moreno, Assistant U.S. Secretary Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs, U.S. Department of Education "The I LIKE ME! books were so greatly loved by our children. The students were so excited to have their own names inside the books. This was truly a very giving thing that you and your Lucent Pioneers group did for us. It is very important to make our children feel special, and I feel that your company accomplished this that day. Thank you again for the wonderful books. I’m sure they will be forever treasured by our students." Vicki Dunn, First Grade Teacher, Goldsboro Elementary, Sanford, FL "The overall mission of Head Start is to provide comprehensive services to children and families, so that they may enter school ready to learn. Our main focus is on promoting a good self-concept and language development, a perfect match for the wonderful I LIKE ME! program." Sarah M. Greene, Chief Executive Officer, National Head Start Association "I first became aware of this program at a Rotary meeting in Tucson. My friend, Bill Frew, who served as District Governor in the Dallas area, had been personally involved with the I LIKE ME! program, and was enthusiastic about its impact on the children receiving the books. My wife, Elsie, a former elementary school teacher, immediately recognized the potential influence these books could have on young students, raising not only their literacy rates, but their self-concept as well. We are pleased that the Huntsville and Nederland Rotary Clubs have now distributed these books. We were personally involved in their distribution locally, and have carried the message to other Rotary clubs in our district, several of which are planning their own I LIKE ME! projects. The looks on the faces of the children receiving the books speak volumes about their value. It is my hope that the Huntsville and Nederland clubs will continue to support this program on an annual basis, and that it will expand throughout the district. This is a wonderful opportunity for Rotarians to improve the quality of lives of the children in their communities." Dan Davis, District Governor, Rotary, Huntsville, TX (project involved Pioneers and Rotarians) "I LIKE ME! is a personalized key to each young reader’s desire to think he or she is important and able to make good choices at home and in school. It’s also a key to a child’s success in school, as reading and a strong self-concept are the most basic indicators of how a child is doing. Each child who receives his or her own personalized book is motivated to read it (or have it read) over and over again, is challenged to try new words and feels special that the book is about him or her. The program involves committed volunteers who can greatly enrich the lives of young children. When community volunteers partner to help young children learn to enjoy reading, the children feel stronger about themselves as a result." Susan Gorin, Executive Director, National Association of School Psychologists "In the spring of 1999, the Greensburg Rotary Club, in partnership with the local chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, distributed I LIKE ME! books to nearly 400 students in Decatur County, Indiana. On evaluation sheets completed by receiving teachers, without exception they requested that the project be continued next year. The following is typical of the comments received: ‘The children love seeing their names in print and those of their friends. The topics in the book have reinforced many of the things we have discussed during the year.’ This is a well-constructed book with wonderful illustrations. I strongly encourage my fellow Rotarians to undertake this as a part of their literacy projects. For the 1999-2000 year, 25% of the Rotary Clubs in our District have already made a commitment to participate. I hope you will join us!" Jerry Fox, District Governor, Rotary Club, Greensburg, IN (project involved Pioneers and Rotarians) "With a positive self-concept, children gain the confidence necessary to engage in challenging tasks, to believe in their ability to master these tasks and to do well in school. I LIKE ME! is an admirable project and the empirical investigation into its efficacy makes a worthwhile contribution to the literature of early intervention . . . and I am pleased to see the positive results of this personalized early learning program for kindergartners and their parents." Dr. Edward Zigler, Yale University, Founder of Head Start |
|
|
|
Welcome
| Program Facts
| Articles | Feedback
| Research | Advisory Board |
|
|
