This December, RedShift Writers turns 4 years old. To commemorate our achievement and encourage people to keep reading, RedShift Writers is holding a RedShift Readers Day to provide readers and books to Legacy Health Centers December 22nd, 9:00 AM – 4 PM at the Southwest location at . High Star Dr., Houston, TX, 77074. Throughout the day, we will read books to the more than 300 kids (average) coming through that location in a given day while their parents talk to doctors and nurses.

Many of the families coming through Legacy Community Centers do not have many books (if any) at home. The staff at these centers not only read to those kids but also give them books of their very own. These kids are 5 and under, so many are in a very fast development impact phase of their childhoods. Reading to them and encouraging them to read can change the trajectory of their lives, and better the community.

If you are interested in contributing, here are the two main ways you can get involved:

1) Join the readers program! You can join us to read at that location that day, or at many other locations during the weekdays from 9 to 4 across the City of Houston. We would love to see you December 9th, but any day you can go is great.

2) Donate books to the cause! Any books work, really. I think new ones are nice because they’re shiny, and kids like that, but there is also an adult literacy program, so all kinds of books are good. This is about encouraging a community and culture of reading.

To donate books or get paperwork to become a volunteer, please email Debbie Costello at dcostello@legacycommunityhealth.org.

I hope you’ll join us and get involved in the cause. It will bring a little something extra to the holiday outreach that can benefit people in a heartwarming way now and a world-changing way later.

Hope to see you there!

-Daniel