Since the October newsletter came out, there have been updates to our apportioned giving. We paid another $2,700 toward our annual giving bill. We sent over $650 to other Methodist and non-Methodist causes too.

A portion of our giving went to the Mission, Service, and Justice fund with the Missouri Annual Conference. Part of the Pathway Out of Poverty program is something new called Open Hearts, Open Books. It is an effort to improve literacy skills in Missouri, and you’re a part of it!

Literacy affects a child’s future. Third grade reading levels are a barometer for success: Strong readers are less likely to be in poverty. Studies have shown that access to books at home increases the likelihood that a student will read and will love reading in the future. We want to offer children a book to love and call their own.

Cultivating a love of reading opens up a world of possibilities, both in academics and imagination. It allows children to see the possibilities outside their neighborhood. A fifth-grader may have not met a female astronaut, but she can read about one! Stories introduce young minds to the opportunities they may have never imagined before.

We want to see less people living in poverty in the future, and we know that helping kids read now is essential to that. Books in the home are the single biggest indicator of academic success — surpassing parents’ education, family composition, and all other factors. To do well in school, children need to grow up in homes that are rich in books.

Literacy is just one way we can create impact in preventing poverty.