In honor of Martin Luther King Day, AmeriCorps/Vista and RSVP + North Dakota hosted a variety of events across the state that allowed participants to sign up for The VoiceBook Project, which gives parents or grandparents who are separated from their children, an opportunity to record themselves reading a book. Because bedtime is a special moment between children and their parents, AmeriCorps/Vista and RSVP + North Dakota have partnered to create the project.
Events were held at the Cass County Jail, Zandbroz Variety, Carlson Library and the West Fargo Library. A booth also was set up at the Fargo Theatre for the 10th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration and Fargo Human Relations Commission Awards.
According to the creators, reading bedtime stories helps children to relax before falling asleep. Stories also can help build their imagination while instilling a reading habit. Adults can choose from a collection of donated books or use one they already own. After the recording, a CD and the book will be given to the children as a way for them to hear a loved one reading a story.
“The VoiceBook Project allows for a meaningful connection to be maintained between adults and children regardless of distance,” says Dauline Menze, coordinator for The VoiceBook Project and AmeriCorps/Vista Leader for North Dakota. “An absence could be due to military deployment, incarceration, job-related travel or they might not live close enough to the child to see them on a regular basis.”
AmeriCorps/Vista is a national service program designed specifically to fight poverty. VISTA members commit to serve full-time for a year at a nonprofit organization or local government agency, working to fight illiteracy, improve health services, create businesses and strengthen community groups.
RSVP + North Dakota is a federally and locally funded program that connects agencies with needs to volunteers with skills. RSVP + North Dakota has six locations throughout North Dakota and is sponsored by NDSU Distance and Continuing Education.
For more information, contact Dauline Menze at 1-9754 or dauline.menze@ndsu.edu.
