Bear and Book Project
Project Information
History:
A Bear and a Book Project was founded in 2023 and is the brainstorm of two Ursuline high school students Peyton Savarese and Lauren Cullinan. Both girls were actively involved in volunteer work inside and outside of school, but wanted to do more involving younger children. They decided that if they could encourage the love of reading in a child, it would benefit them as they navigated school and other subjects. They added the bear as a companion and a reading buddy as some children don't have a person to sit with and read to. And so the work began! The response from teachers and parents was incredible.
What we do:
We coordinate with teachers and school administrators from pre-k to 2nd grade. Our class visit begins with us reading an age appropriate book. We bring our own bears (Candy Bear and Sprinkles) to read with also. We engage with the children and ask them questions to keep their interest throughout the story. At the end we give each child a gift bag which consists of a new bear, a new book to read and a flyer with information about our project.
Our Mission:
Our goal is simple - make reading fun so learning is fun. We have read to classes in different boroughs, states, and socioeconomic backgrounds. For us the end result is clear. Our hope is that with encouragement and the development of early reading we will have instilled young minds with imagination and endless possibilities for the future.