Books and bikes are the main attraction on Friday morning, August 2, 2024, for the kids in Deer Creek. Read & Ride is the culmination of the Deer Creek Summer Program. It also is the last event of the local Book Rich Environment (BRE) summer initiative, led by United Way of Kaw Valley, Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library, and Topeka Housing Authority.
“Nearly 4 million low-income children are living in HUD-assisted housing across the country. BRE aims to foster a love of reading and to improve educational outcomes of children living in HUD-assisted housing by distributing free, high-quality books to children, promoting literacy activities offered by local libraries and nonprofits, and by strengthening partnerships between public housing authorities, local public libraries and literacy partners to develop and deliver programming to improve educational outcomes of PHA residents.” (Source: https://www.hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2017/HUDNo_17…)
Readers ride bikes provided through the help of the Topeka Community Cycle Project. They spend about 90 minutes riding from their home base in the Deer Creek neighborhood to Highland Park High School, Echo Ridge Community Center and Dornwood Park. Participants also look forward to pizza and free books at the end of the ride.
About United Way of Kaw Valley
In September 2022, United Way of Douglas County merged with United Way of Greater Topeka to form United Way of Kaw Valley (UWKV). UWKV serves as a grant maker, community convenor, volunteer organizer and strategic partner for the nonprofit sector in Shawnee, Douglas, Jackson and Jefferson counties in northeast Kansas. Donor dollars are invested locally and support a broad range of initiatives that benefit the whole family in education, financial stability and health, as well as racial equity and family supports/basic needs. Learn more at uwkawvalley.org.
ABOUT THE READ AND RIDE PARTNERS
TOPEKA COMMUNITY CYCLE PROJECT
The Topeka Community Cycle Project is committed to the reclamation and distribution of recycled bicycles. Through an earn-a-bike program, volunteers refurbish bicycles that would otherwise take up space in a landfill giving new life and utility to bicycles. The Topeka Community Cycle Project promotes self-reliance, sustainability, and healthful living in Topeka.
THE TOPEKA HOUSING AUTHORITY
The Topeka Housing Authority (THA) is the public housing authority for Topeka and Shawnee County Kansas. We provide housing or provide rental assistance for approximately 4,500 Topekans. We truly want to empower the families we serve to be successful while living with us, and we have created numerous partnerships with awesome companies and organization in Topeka to do just that.
TOPEKA & SHAWNEE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
The library’s mission is sparking curiosity and connecting our community through literacy and learning. Our core values are excellence, curiosity, literacy, freedom, teamwork and accountability. We help transform the lives of citizens through five Community Impact Goals: every child will be ready for kindergarten • everyone will discover their passion for learning • everyone will continue learning new ways to live their best life • Topeka and Shawnee County will be an engaged community of readers • the library will be a learning organization committed to excellence in: leadership, planning, customer focus, process management and partner focus.