By Lori Ann Doyon with Samantha Doucet
On October 3, St. Nicks Alliance will be hosting their annual Touch-A-Truck event in North Brooklyn. Children are encouraged to touch, climb on, sit in, and explore the working vehicles they regularly observe in their neighborhood. Funds raised by this event will go to the St. Nicks Alliance Book Shuttle–Literacy on Wheels.
- History – St. Nicks Alliance held their 1st Touch A Truck on September 21, 2013. It was held on Maspeth and Morgan Avenues and drew more than 150 kids plus their parents.
- The 2nd Annual Touch-A-Truck occurred on October 25, 2014. It was moved to Roebling Street between North 10th and North 11th streets. St. Nicks Alliance improved upon the success of the previous year at this location and decided to hold this year’s Touch A Truck in the same spot.
- Funds raised by the North Brooklyn Touch A Truck will be used to purchase books and maintain the Book Shuttle operation.
- The Book Shuttle–Literacy on Wheels is a fun and book filled mobile book bus that promotes a passion for reading in children, particularly in the underserved areas in our community. Displaying a wide variety of literature and materials, the traveling book shuttle will increase access to books and enhance excitement around literacy through storytelling, themed book events, guest authors, puppet shows, reading games, and interactive technology.
- A goal of this project is to encourage young people to read 500 books. This single most important predictor of academic success is the amount of time children spend reading books. It is more significant than economic or social status. (from Atwell, N. 2007, “The Reading Zone”, New York, Scholastic)
The 3rd Annual North Brooklyn Touch A Truck Community Event will be held on Saturday, October 3, 2015, from 11am–2pm, on Roebling Street between North 10th and North 11th streets
The Greenline 