Real Dads Read campaign: Children’s Libraries in Community Barber Shops and Hair Salons.
Real Dads Read (RDR) is aimed at elementary and middle school aged children (K-8) and their fathers/male caregivers with the goals:
- Encouraging children to develop a love for reading.
- Improving children’s literacy skills and educational outcomes.
- Strengthening bonds between fathers/male caregivers and their children.
Research shows that fathers are involved in the lives of their children, especially their education, children learn more, perform better in school, and exhibit healthier behaviors. Even when fathers do not share the same home with their children, their active involvement can have a lasting and positive impact.
This project is an opportunity to help elevate the counter narrative by providing a great two generational approach to services for fathers and their children.
San Bernardino Fatherhood is seeking to establish thirty (30) children libraries in barber shops and hair salons in the cities of San Bernardino and Highland. Our objective is to partner with barber shops and hair salons to encourage children to read and (most importantly) fathers/male caregivers to read to and with their children while waiting in these businesses. San Bernardino Fatherhood does the “work” in locating, promoting, educating, setting up, and monitoring these children “reading centers” for their success.
We are seeking both financial and book donations for each of our partnering barber shop and hair salon locations. The children targeted are from ages zero (0) to eleven (11) years old. Research evidence stresses the importance of early childhood literacy and children reading at “grade level” by the third grade to increase positive outcomes for their future.
