A donation of nearly 90 educational books has been made by the YMCA of Southwest Michigan to a church reading program in Benton Harbor. The First Church of God’s Robin Shipkosky tells WSJM News the program was started last year to help kids in the Benton Heights area.
“One of the things that we know about the children of the community is that, quite often, they’re not read to at home,” Shipkosky said. “Their parents may be Spanish speaking only. They don’t have the English speaking skills to be able to help their children with reading and homework.”
Shipkosky says the program grew from about 15 kids last year to 25 this year. They work with church volunteers twice a week, and the goal is to expand again next year. Shipkosky hopes to acquire enough books to be able to send them home with the kids. She says anyone who wants to help can call First Church of God on Euclid Avenue.
