A five-week summer reading program “Dig Into Reading” with 221 young participants, sponsored by The Friends of the Cohasset Library, the Massachusetts Library System, the Boston Bruins and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners culminated with the presentation of a donation to the Cohasset Working Dog Foundation.
Each student set a personal reading goal of how many minutes a day they would read. After reading each day, the students would then log their reading minutes.
Reading logs were displayed in the Children’s Room at the completion of the program.
In years past, participants were awarded T-shirts, backpacks, books and other similar incentives at the end of the program. After careful consideration and promotion, the decision was made several years ago to move from an individual prize-based program to a world service/citizenship based program. For five years, Heifer International was the chosen foundation, with children reading toward the donation cost of an animal chosen by the participants. The Friends of the Cohasset Library donated one dollar for each summer reading log returned.
After the Boston Marathon bombings, Children’s Librarian, Sharon Moody felt a need to bring the focus closer to home and to sponsor a local organization or foundation, and The Cohasset Working Dog Foundation was selected.
Most of the children in the program were already familiar with Cohasset’s Police K-9 team, Patrick Reardon and K-9 Erik. “The Foundation’s recent announcement of the purchase and training of a service dog for a Cohasset child is a tangible reminder of how, by doing a little bit of reading each day, we can make a profound difference in our community,” said Moody. “It’s a win/win for all”.
Selected to present the donation to the Cohasset Working Dog Foundation to K-9 officer Patrick Reardon and K-9 Erik were three of the program’s enthusiastic participants: Maggie Young, age 8; Kevin Wrenn, age 9 and Josh Young, age 7. Maggie read more than 3,000 minutes, Kevin more than 1,100 minutes and Josh read more than 300 minutes.
The generous donation from the library’s reading program will be put to use immediately, as The Cohasset Working Dog Foundation is currently training a young black Labrador Retriever named Sophie to become a therapy dog who will make regular reading therapy visits to Cohasset’s Paul Pratt Library as well as visit nursing homes and senior centers in the area. Look for Sophie wearing her Dog B.O.N.E.S vest at the library and around town soon!
The Cohasset Working Dog Foundation supports the service of working dogs in the town of Cohasset. Founded in August of 2011, the foundation helps fund the Cohasset Police K9 program, provides grants for the purchase and training of Service Dogs for local residents, and is currently training a Therapy Dog who will do reading therapy with children and visit with the elderly. For more information on the Cohasset Working Dog Foundation, contact Trish Morse at: info@cohassetworkingdog.org