Fauquier Reaches for Excellence in School Health (FRESH) is excited to announce a new partnership with Fauquier Health. FRESH (a Fauquier County Public Schools program funded by the PATH Foundation) is on a mission to promote a ‘lifetime of wellness’ among Fauquier youth through nutrition, movement, and literacy enrichment.
As standard practice, the family of every new baby born at Fauquier Health receives a ‘birthing bag’, containing important information about infant care along with community resources. These bags will now include promotional materials for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library - a free literacy program for children aged birth to five. New parents can sign their baby up to receive a free book mailed to their home each month, until the child’s 5th birthday. FRESH began the program in May of this year and is the lead affiliate for Fauquier County enrollment and fundraising.
The Imagination Library is a wonderful way for children to build home libraries and for parents and caregivers to promote early literacy skills and bond with their children through reading. Imagination Library posters will also be displayed throughout the hospital to increase program awareness. “Fauquier Health is excited to have the opportunity to share these literacy resources with local families,” commented Sarah Cubbage, Director of Marketing & Public Relations. “Our Family Birthing Center team strives to provide delivering mothers and their families with a top-notch experience. Part of that experience includes resources from lactation support to now, literacy opportunities thanks to this new partnership with FRESH.”
Not to exclude other children who might be visiting or receiving care, FRESH will also provide Fauquier Health with branded bags containing multiple free FRESH Reads books and ‘Moves with Math’ themed activities. ‘Moves with Math’ is a FRESH curriculum created in partnership with the Mathematics Instructional Supervisor of Fauquier County Public Schools. These activities combine movement with learning concepts to reinforce math skills while having fun. FRESH’s literacy and activity bags will be kept on-hand for hospital staff to distribute as needed.
FRESH Supervisor, Kristen McAuliffe commented, “We are so excited to share information about FRESH through our partnership with Fauquier Health. We absolutely love any chance to provide children with free books. As an added bonus, we have the opportunity for families to learn about our programming and the resources we provide throughout the schools and community.”