A Little Free Library’s New Home on Campus

March 9, 2017March 9, 2017 / Detroit Mercy English / Leave a comment

The latest Rx for Reading Detroit free library is inside the McNichols Campus Library at University of Detroit Mercy. Visitors to the library are invited to choose books to “Take, Read, Share” and donate their own books to help keep the library stocked. The McNichols Campus Library is open to the public and serves as a valuable resource for students and members of the community. UDM LFL The steward for the library, Megan Novell, is on the staff of the McNichols Campus Library and is an adjunct English instructor at University of Detroit Mercy. She also designed and painted the library! The Detroit Mercy library joins over 40 other free libraries installed by Rx for Reading Detroit.

UDM LFL with Megan Novell

Brightmoor Book Squad!

August 19, 2016 / Detroit Mercy English / Leave a comment

Guest post by Nicky Marcot, teacher at Westside Christian Academy and community volunteer with Neighbors Building Brightmoor. Nicky is a University of Detroit Mercy alum (English, 2007).

On Detroit’s northwest side neighborhood of Brightmoor, Rx for Reading provided a beautiful collection of high-quality books to Brightmoor Book Squad (BBS). Over the course of two months, Kids ages 1-12 came twice a week for an hour to read together, discuss what they read, complete fun related crafts, and share a healthy snack. The students also chose books to bring home, read, and keep.

The purpose of BBS’s Summer Reading Club was to keep students reading throughout the year, help curb summer slide, and show that reading doesn’t just have to be something they do in school, but can be a fun free-time activity too. Vanessa, the grandmother of ten-year-old participant Dan, said, “I had to force him to come the first day, but after that, he couldn’t wait to come back. I’ve never seen him read this much on his own!” Thank you Rx for Reading for helping get kids like Dan excited about reading, and coming back for more!

Community members Tavia Young, Britt Bradd, Trena Ross and Sky Brown helped run the Brightmoor Book Squad this summer.

Detroit Write-a-House Winner Brings Books to Kids in her Neighborhood

October 9, 2015 / Detroit Mercy English / Leave a comment

Casey Rocheteau was the first ever winner of the Detroit Write-a-House competition. Write a House works to bolster the literary arts community in Detroit by renovating homes in Detroit neighborhoods and giving them to writers, free of charge, forever.

Rocheteau, a poet and performing artist, contributes to Detroit’s vibrant literary scene in print and in performance. But there is another way she contributes to literacy and reading—with the Little Free Library planted in front of her home. Recently Rx for Reading gave Rocheteau over 400 children’s books to help keep her library filled with choices for all of the kids in her neighborhood.

Rocheteau’s Write-a-House is a reader’s paradise.

Bookwoman Award Presented to Mary-Catherine Harrison

October 5, 2015 / Detroit Mercy English / Leave a comment

The 2015 WNBA Detroit Bookwoman Award was presented to Mary-Catherine Harrison, Founder and Executive Director of Rx for Reading, “in recognition of her tireless and passionate work advocating for literacy and community engagement.”

Mary-Catherine Harrison (right) after being presented the Bookwoman Award by Shannon Jones Janeczek (left), President of the WNBA Detroit Chapter and Tanya Davidson (middle), WNBA Detroit Award Chair.

The Women’s National Book Association was founded in 1917 and works to promote reading and support the role of women in the “community of the book”. The Detroit Chapter of the WNBA, founded in 1966, organizes local events related to books, publishing, and reading and supports non-profit organizations that promote literacy and reading, including, in 2015, Rx for Reading Detroit.

Tanya Davidson, Award Chair for the WNBA Detroit Chapter, introduces this year’s winner.

Mary-Catherine Harrison speaks about the history and mission of Rx for Reading.

Mary-Catherine Harrison is the 17th recipient of the Bookwoman Award, which was first presented by the WNBA Detroit Chapter in 1991. The award honors Michigan women who have made significant contributions to libraries, reading, writing, or publishing. Previous winners include Rochelle Riley, columnist for the Detroit Free Press and tireless advocate for literacy, Colleen Kammer, co-owner of the independent bookstore BookBeat, Naomi Long Madgett, publisher, educator, and Detroit Poet Laureate, Terry Blackhawk, poet and founder of InsideOut Literary Arts Project, and Debra Bonde, Founder and Director of Seedlings Braille Books for Children.

Both Rx for Reading and Seedlings Braille Books for Children work to expand access to books to children who otherwise wouldn't have them. Here, 2015 Bookwoman Mary-Catherine Harrison with 1992 Bookwoman Debra Bonde.

Both Rx for Reading and Seedlings Braille Books for Children work to expand access to children’s books. Here, 2015 Bookwoman Mary-Catherine Harrison with 1992 Bookwoman Debra Bonde.

Mary-Catherine Harrison with Margaret Auer, WNBA Detroit Treasurer and Dean of University Libraries and Instructional Technology at University of Detroit Mercy and Pamela Zarkowski, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at University of Detroit Mercy.

Mary-Catherine Harrison with Margaret Auer, Treasurer of the WNBA Detroit Chapter and Dean of University Libraries and Instructional Technology at University of Detroit Mercy and Pamela Zarkowski, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at University of Detroit Mercy.

Rx for Reading volunteers Renesha Smoot Grafton, Maya Faison, and Emily Auten with Dr. Harrison.

Mary-Catherine Harrison with Rx for Reading volunteers Renesha Smoot Grafton, Maya Faison, and Emily Auten.

Thank you to the Women’s National Book Association and WNBA Detroit for this wonderful recognition of Rx for Reading and our work on behalf of children’s literacy.

Healthy Teens Read!

May 11, 2015 / Detroit Mercy English / Leave a comment

RX for Reading distributes a lot of picture books and early readers, but reading is a lifelong activity! It was especially fun to put together the RX for Reading Library at the Healthy Teens Community Care Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. From Louise Erdrich to Lois Lowry, Twilight to The Hunger Games, we hope the teens at HTC3 find plenty of books for their reading pleasure!

The staff at the Healthy Teen Center with the RX for Reading Library!

Thanks to the incredible staff at Healthy Teen Community Care Center! From left to right: Jade Burns, HTC3 Director; Ora Taunton- Medical assistant; Ronida Powell – MSU Intern; Jasmine Smothers – Clinic administrative assistant; Dr. Norris Polk – Medical director

The mission of the DCHC Healthy Teen Center is to provide community-based primary and mental health care services, health education, information on preventive and safety behaviors to youth aged 10-21 and up to age 26 for individuals with special needs; to offer a multifaceted array of services that will be accessible and available, confidential, culturally sensitive and age-appropriate with comprehensive health care planning; to promote awareness and involvement with healthy lifestyle choices and encourage youth to take responsibility for the care of their health; to provide counseling and peer-group involvement to deter them from unhealthy behaviors, and to expose youth to health care as a career choice.

Thanks for including RX for Reading Detroit in the incredible work you do for teens in our community!

The Core of STEM is Reading!

May 7, 2015 / Detroit Mercy English / 1 Comment

Thank you, United Children and Family Head Start, for inviting RX for Reading Detroit to your Math and Science Open House!

$Math and Science Open House$

UCFHS knows that reading is the foundation of ALL learning. Every year, families and teachers from their eight Head Start programs come together to celebrate their children and highlight their discoveries in math and science.

$Kamari, rocking fashion and his new Sesame Street Book$

This year, RX for Reading Student Coordinator Sara Zawacki helped 260 children pick new books to take home. Talk about a day of reading and learning!

$So Many Choices!$

So Many Choices!

$Sara helps with the selections$

Sara helps with the selections

Linda Wesley, Community Relations Manager for Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones, stopped by. $Math and Science Open House 3$

UCFHS kids know: READING IS A SUPER POWER!

$Math and Science Open House 4 cropped$

It Takes a Village

May 6, 2015May 6, 2015 / Detroit Mercy English / Leave a comment

Thank you AmeriCorps, The LEAGUE Michigan, and the Read n’ Give project for your support of RX for Reading Detroit!

Maya Faison and Erik Krieger, two incredible members of the AmeriCorps VISTA program, delivered and sorted 1,700 BOOKS to be distributed through RX for Reading Clinic Libraries. Many of the books were donated by students and teachers across the city of Detroit, and now they will find new homes with kids and families in our community.

Individuals and community partners working together for literacy is what RX for Reading is all about.

Never Doubt.

April 29, 2015May 1, 2015 / Detroit Mercy English / Leave a comment

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead

The idea behind RX for Reading Detroit is simple. Literacy is a human right. Every child should be surrounded by books.

UDM student Alyssa Burgess reads with the kids at Emmanuel.

Over the 2014-2015 academic year, RX for Reading distributed 7,546 new and gently used books to kids and community partners in Detroit. We raised $6,500 to purchase new books in English and Spanish. We built 12 RX for Reading Libraries in low-income health and dental clinics, 4 classroom libraries for local Head Start programs, and our first RX for Reading Little Free Library in Gesu Community Green. We partnered with 6 Head Start and elementary classrooms for shared reading between college students and younger students, and over 50 UDM undergraduate and graduate students were involved in growing the organization—running book drives, sorting and cleaning books, setting up libraries, and reading with kids in our community.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We are grateful for the incredible work of our community partners, for the generosity of our donors, and most of all, for each and every child in our community.

Together, we are raising readers, one book at a time.

Support Our Work Through Our Virtual Book Drive:
http://supporters.firstbook.org/goto/rxreading