Ossining’s “You’ve Been Booked” Program Builds Love of Reading

When 4-year-old Sam Cohen woke up April 28, he found a canvas bag full of books hanging from the front door. There was a sign in it that said “We’ve been BOOKED!!!”

District staff members and volunteers had made deliveries to the Cohens and other families the day before in the district’s “Ossining Loves to Read” bookmobile and other vehicles. “You’ve Been Booked” is one of the latest initiatives of Ossining’s busy ACTION (Acting Conscientiously to Ignite Opportunity Now) committee, which strives to meet the needs of local children and families and promote literacy. Dozens of families have been “booked” so far.

The directions in the canvas bags ask recipients to read the books and share them with others. Kelsey Cohen, who also has a 21-month-old named Meadow, said they chose friends with young daughters and made a special delivery to their house.

“We added a few books from our collection that we wanted to pass on, a pay it forward kind of thing,” she said. “This was so easy and really fun, and Sam was all about getting books but also about giving books.”

From clothing drives and lending libraries to food pantries and the “Ossining Basics” campaign, the ACTION committee has lived up to its name since it was formed in 2015. “No idea is too big or small,” said parent Jessica Vecchiarelli, co-chairwoman of the committee, which includes district staff members, parents and community organizations. “We try to turn everything into ACTION!”

The committee recently launched a donation drive for “Birthday in a Box” kits. The collection spot is Mike Risko Music School. Each kit will include cake mix, frosting, candles, balloons, and a “happy birthday” banner or streamer. Social workers at all Ossining schools will give them out to children in need.

Throughout May, the committee is collecting school supplies for the 2018-19 school year to give to needy students. In addition to collection boxes at each school, there will now be public collection spots at the Ossining Police Department, First Village Coffee, Stop & Shop and the Cortlandt School of Performing Arts.

Last August, ACTION delivered more than 100 filled backpacks to students, and the committee hopes to increase that number this year, Ms. Vecchiarelli said. Last Thanksgiving, ACTION donated 101 turkeys, reusable bags and children’s book bundles to families in the community. During Giving Tuesday last November, the committee and PTA raised more than $4,000 to support enriching experiences at Ossining schools.

The “Ossining Loves to Read” bookmobile that Superintendent Raymond Sanchez and Carrieann Sipos, director of elementary teaching and learning, use for “You’ve Been Booked” deliveries was unveiled last summer. With the help of United Way of Westchester and Putnam, the district converted its delivery van into a mobile library and stocked it with children's books donated by the Ossining Girl Scouts and other community organizations.

Thanks to the bookmobile deliveries and lending libraries, thousands of gently used books have been circulated within the community. ACTION collects books at all of its schools and at the district office to make sure there are enough books to meet the demands of all of Ossining’s eager young readers.

Another ACTION initiative is holding STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) game nights at the elementary schools. Kevin Robinson, Ossining Public Library’s children’s librarian, has hosted several STEAM game nights. Mr. Robinson creates original board games and teaches children and parents how to play. Each family receives a copy of the game to take home.

ACTION has also sponsored story walks, in which pages of the stories are mounted in storefronts or in parks. The group will unveil a story walk at Wishnie Park later this month. The "Ossining Basics" is a community movement that encourages five practices to stimulate brain growth in children from birth to age 3, such as talk, sing and point; and count and group.

“Sometimes you don’t know the impact of a great idea until you put it into action,” Ms. Sipos said. “This one has become an inspiring effort not only for our children and their families, but for the educators who are promoting this reading movement.”

(Photos: Sam Cohen looking through books he received from the ACTION committee and delivering books to family friends; ACTION committee members delivering books, including Superintendent Raymond Sanchez and Carrieann Sipos, director of elementary teaching and learning.)