Along with a little bundle of joy, every newborn at Southland Hospital receives a special gift in the hopes it will spark a lifelong love of reading.
For 25 years (not consecutively) the Southland Literacy Association has had a special partnership with Southland Hospital through its Books for Babies project.
Association president Kirsten Kean says its Books for Babies committee is proud to continue to support, organise and run this project for Southland babies and their families.
“Helping raise literacy awareness and reading from a young age through viewing, reading, sharing and talking about books is vital for brain and oral development.
“Our book packs promote a love of literacy. They also help to develop the literacy skills of oral language and those necessary for reading and communicating effectively in a loving way from an early age.”
Association member Daphne Lindsay is one of the driving forces behind the project since it started.
The first book given was by Southland author Diana Noonan called The Best Loved Bear.
The Association’s former committee member Helen Campbell wrote two books for the project What is a Southlander and More about a Southlander.
In 1998, it was the 150th anniversary of the Southland and Otago provinces' establishment. The Southland branch of the Reading Association (now Southland Literacy Assocation) marked the occasion by promoting reading and literacy to our “tomorrow’s” generation.
Fast forward to today and Books for Babies has come a long way from initially starting as a biennial project in 1998 and being repeated in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008.
Southland Literacy Association president Kirsten Kean is with her sister-in-law Lauren Kean and her son Angus, who received his first Hairy Maclary book through the Books for Babies project at Southland Hospital.
In the early years, funding came from various sources: businesses, schools, and service clubs assisted.
Since 2017, the Assocation has appreciated the funding it received from Community Trust South, ILT Foundation and the Mataura Licensing Trust.
Books for Babies extends beyond Southland Hospital and packs of books are also delivered to Gore Hospital, Winton Maternity Centre and the Lakes District Hospital maternity unit.
Each pack contains a quality child’s picture book, a pamphlet with information supporting the development of oral literacy skills, information from the local library and acknowledgement of the sponsors.
About 1500 book packs are distributed yearly.
