HOPES Parents Deliver Free Books Throughout the Community  - United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County

HOPES Parents Deliver Free Books Throughout the Community 

Supporting Early Learning While Raising Awareness of Available Resources
  • January 27, 2025
HOPES Parents Deliver Free Books Throughout the Community  - United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County
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The experience of being a first-time parent is one of excitement, confusion and anxiety. In the days and weeks after their newborn arrives, parents being their search for resources that can foster their child’s social, emotional and cognitive growth. One important way parents can help their child develop these skills is by reading books to them frequently.  

Studies show that reading to young children helps them develop listening skills and language skills, preparing them for future academic success. This is why members of the Parent Advisory Committee for United Way’s Healthy Outcomes through Prevention and Early Support (HOPES) grant program, decided to support local parents by delivering 550+ books to Little Free Libraries throughout the community.  

HOPES is a flexible community grant that United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County that funds community programs and initiatives that assist families with young children between the ages of 0 to 5. This includes resources like parent education, early childhood literacy, maternal depression screening and much more.  

The parents on this HOPES committee specifically targeted areas of town that did not have a nearby public library to distribute these free children’s books. 

“I started thinking about how far the closest library to me was,” said Sara Lopez, a member of the HOPES Parent Advisory Committee. “It was not that close at all and we also do not have a county library where I’m at on the far west side,” she added.

The 13 parents on the HOPES Parent Advisory Committee ended up distributing 550+ books to 33 little free library locations throughout the community. Targeting areas designated as library deserts or high-risk areas according to the child maltreatment risk map, they distributed children’s books across 17 zip codes in Bexar County. Books included household classics like “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?”, “The Very Hungry Caterpillars” and others. Many of the books were in both English and Spanish, with many of them focused on socioemotional learning. Each copy also included information on HOPES programs that can provide support and assistance to families.  

 

“It is very convenient to have access to books for your children,” Sara said. “I hope the parents who use our books are able to learn about the variety of services that are currently offered in San Antonio for kids ages 0-5 by HOPES. Things like parenting classes, I know I struggled with my son when he was younger so I ended up taking classes on temper tantrums and potty training,” she added. 

Sara’s first-born son is now three-years-old and she remembers how overwhelming it was as a first-time parent when her son was a newborn. She had the time and energy to find support but didn’t know what resources were available for her family. Then she found a HOPES funded program at KLRN, which opened the door to several other helpful HOPES resources that made a difference for her family.   

“I was a first-time parent and I was just kind of clueless about things,” says Sara. “There are a lot of parents in my shoes who were first-time parents that didn’t know that there are a lot of resources in the community,” she added. 

By filling local free libraries with children’s books and information on HOPES programs, Sara expects the families who use these libraries to have more opportunities to foster their child’s early learning while also getting connected to HOPES programs that can continue their child’s social, emotional and cognitive growth outside of the home. 

“I hope that this helps them get information on what they need for whatever parenting phase they are in right now,” Sara says.  

 

For information on HOPES programs, please visit our website.  

 

 

Categories: Impact Stories
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