girl scouts of the colonial coastThanks to Girl Scout Cadette Ashlina Keller from Troop 805 in Chesapeake, the Chesapeake Health Department has a Little Free Library! The new addition that is situated in the lobby of the Chesapeake Health Department supports the mission of the No Hit Zone, an initiative of Champions For Children - Prevent Child Abuse Hampton Roads - as a means to encourage reading and positive parenting.
Kimi Stevens, the public relations representative for the Chesapeake Health Department, says the library, designed in the fashion of produce cart, has really been successful since being placed. The colorful cart made by Ashlina holds dozens of free books she and friends collected. The books are directed to young clients in both English and Spanish.
" Before we installed the library, the main source of client/child interaction came from mobile devices," Kimi said. "This type of interaction sometimes left the children agitated and disengaged. The Little Free Library has made a huge impact on our clients, their families and our staff. The children love it! We love it! We can't keep new reader books in stock, but we can count on Girl Scouts and friends in the community to continue to donate books and keep it stocked."
During Ashlina's presentation at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, she said as a young child she visited the Chesapeake Health Department and wished there had been a book cart like this for her use.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was done on Read Across America Day, a nationwide reading celebration that takes place annually on March 2 - Dr. Seuss's birthday. Ashlina brought one of her long-time favorite books by Dr. Seuss to the ceremony and read a quote, "You have brains in your head, You have feet in your shoes, You can steer yourself in any direction you choose."
We are grateful Ashlina's feet were pointed towards the Chesapeake Health Department!
