LEGO, Jumpstart to 'Build Literacy' at Willimantic Library

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WILLIMANTIC, CT (10/24/2017) The Willimantic Public Library will host a "Building Literacy" event on Oct. 25 in partnership with LEGO and the Jumpstart program at Eastern Connecticut State University. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the children's section of the library, Jumpstart members (and other student volunteers from Eastern) will read stories and assist children in building story-related LEGO creations. Stories will be read on the hour every hour.

The event is free and open to the public and appropriate for a range of children, from toddlers to teens-there will be a teen area with projects for older kids. Every child will get a free book to take home. For more information, contact Meaghan Penrod, Eastern's Jumpstart site manager, at (860) 465-1014 or penrodm@easternct.edu.

Jumpstart is a national early education organization funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). Jumpstart recruits and trains college students and community members to serve preschool children in low-income neighborhoods. Members serve 300 hours in an academic year and receive an education award that can be used for tuition or federal loans. Eastern's Center for Community Engagement (CECE) has hosted Jumpstart since 2014.

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Eastern is the state of Connecticut's public liberal arts university, serving more than 5,400 students annually at its Willimantic campus and satellite locations. In addition to attracting students from 163 of Connecticut's 169 towns, Eastern also draws students from 20 other states and 29 other countries. A residential campus offering 39 majors and 65 minors, Eastern offers students a strong liberal art foundation grounded in an array of applied learning opportunities. Eastern has been awarded "Green Campus" status by the Princeton Review seven years in a row. For more information, visit www.easternct.edu.