LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A Cleveland lady who moved to Las Vegas with desires of bringing books on to youngsters in underserved communities has hit a roadblock.
Chrishawanda Matthews’ bookmobile mission has been sidelined by automobile troubles, forcing her to hunt neighborhood assist to get again on the street.
She operates “Literacy within the Hood,” which stands for “Serving to Out Our Disenfranchised.” It’s a program designed to ship books to youngsters who lack entry to studying supplies at dwelling. She strategically selects communities based mostly on literacy information.
“I’ve been checking the statistics the place the testing scores are low right here in Clark County, so I can sort of have an concept of the place I can go,” Matthews stated.
Her cell library was speculated to be totally operational by now, however mechanical points have derailed her plans quickly after she moved to Las Vegas in July. Matthews stated the drastic temperature change from Cleveland to Las Vegas has contributed to the problems the van is experiencing. The van, which was donated by singer Kelly Clarkson after she heard Matthews’ story, is at the moment not drivable.
“This van is mostly stuffed to the rim with books,” Matthews defined. “We bought workbooks for teenage boys. It simply will depend on what neighborhood we go in.”
Matthews’ literacy mission was born throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. She witnessed firsthand how lockdowns affected youngsters’s entry to studying supplies.
“In the course of the pandemic, we had been in a lockdown, and what I seen is youngsters had been at dwelling with out entry to books,” Matthews stated. “So my son and I went on social media and stated you’re on lockdown, pack up, clear out the youngsters’ room, clear out the library, and allow us to get these gently used books.”
The significance of early literacy turned clear by way of her personal son’s expertise. Matthews began studying with him when he was simply 2 years previous.
“My son began studying when he was 2, so when he bought to kindergarten, he was the one child that would learn in his class,” she stated.
Nonetheless, she stated her son was bullied by the opposite college students who didn’t know find out how to learn.
“For him, what turned an excited second or pleasant second turned one thing he actually didn’t need to do,” she stated.
Matthews began her literacy mission in Cleveland from the again of her personal automobile earlier than increasing the operation. The donated van represented a major improve to her grassroots effort.
“The e-book van isn’t simply one thing for me to drive, it’s a motion and proper now, the motion is down due to the guarantee firm,” she stated.
Her program targets areas with particular wants.
“Each state has a neighborhood, a hood someplace there’s low-income housing, low testing scores, so yeah literacy within the hood — coming to a hood,” Matthews stated.
Matthews has launched a GoFundMe marketing campaign to boost cash for the mandatory repairs. She hopes to get the van operating once more earlier than the present semester ends.
“Investing in minds one e-book at a time,” Matthews stated, describing her mission’s core philosophy.
Along with in search of restore funds, Matthews is amassing gently used books from Clark County residents. These excited by donating new or gently used books can e-mail Matthews straight at literacyinthehood@gmail.com
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