Library to launch reimagined ‘Snuggle Up & Read’

By kAtE Hill Staff Writer

On July 1, the Cazenovia Public Library (CPL) received a $2,250 grant from the Jim & Juli Boeheim Foundation to help fund the fall 2023 through spring 2024 Snuggle Up & Read program, a collaborative community initiative organized by CPL, Burton Street Elementary School, and CazCares food pantry and clothing closet.

The program will provide 40 lowincome Burton Street families with a set of three books along with a special family snack, reading tips, and guiding questions.

Social Worker Mary Tibbits, who has existing relationships with the participating families. According to CPL Youth Services Coordinator Jenna Wright, the most recent statistics from the New York State Education Department Data Site show that 110 students at Burton Street receive free or reduced-price lunches, and data from the United States Census Bureau show that over 10 percent of Madison County residents were living in poverty as of July 2021.

“By providing our target families with engaging books to read in their home environments, we can create opportunities for students to interact with new words and concepts that

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Cazenovia Public library recently announced the fall 2023 to spring 2024 Snuggle Up & Read program, a collaborative community initiative organized by CPl, Burton Street Elementary School, and CazCares that provides a set of three content- and vocabulary-rich books, a snack, reading tips, and guiding questions to 40 Burton Street families.

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The book kits will be discreetly distributed through Burton Street

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