TESTIMONIALS As shown by the following quotes, CLiF's programs have a tremendous positive impact on the children, families, organizations and communities we serve. Rural Public Libraries Librarian -- Bath, NH: "The CLiF Sponsorship had a huge impact on our town. I now have 75 children -- every child in the Bath Village School -- visiting the library on a regular basis. Every week entire classes of children come to check out books and to have a story hour. We also have 20 home-schoolers visiting regularly and we're setting up visits with groups of preschoolers. Each group comes at a different time because there isn't room for them all at once! This has all happened thanks to CLiF's work. For the past ten years no classes of children came to visit from the school. All these groups of children are now visiting the library as a result of the new CLiF books and the exposure the CLiF Sponsorship gave us." Librarian -- Chelsea, VT: "Your foundation is the greatest! Small public libraries have such a difficult time coming up with funding even in times of plenty. As a former school librarian, I find it extremely frustrating not to have enough books to meet my children's needs. Children are not as patient about waiting for great books. If you can't meet their needs quickly, you've usually lost them. I hope you can keep your wonderful, very practical foundation going! THANKS!" Author/Illustrator Visits Librarian -- Northwood, NH: "I was amazed that [children's book author Diane Mayer] answered EVERY question these kids asked her -- including how much she made! Most interesting was how she described the publishing process -- and how she submitted one manuscript over 20 times before it was finally accepted. I think that information will really stay with the kids -- you know -- never give up and follow your dreams. Stick with it!!" Librarian -- Springfield, VT: "The children loved children's book author Gloria Kamen's presentation. They watched as she made her drawing come to life during the reading of the story -- they even interrupted her with applause when she added some artistic details. I think she was tremendously effective. I was concerned about her ability to manage 120 kids -- but they really were captivated. You could tell how enthusiastic they were by all the questions they asked afterward -- about how she got ideas for her stories, where she studied writing and drawing etc." Writer-in-Residence Teacher -- Island Pond, VT: "Once Leland Kinsey was in our room he had their undivided attention - I have never seen (the students) listen so carefully - and everyone willingly participated. You could have heard a pin drop. The presentation was very effective. We had students writing pages that usually fight to produce a paragraph! One student in particular did not want to write a 'stupid poem' on the first day. By the second day he was begging to share his poems aloud to the class." Teacher -- Greenfield, NH: "The children loved having (New Hampshire Poet Laureate) Marie Harris come. We wrote poetry often after the workshop and their work was great! Especially interesting were the peer sharing/conferencing opportunities. They really paid attention to Mrs. Harris' notions about words and seeing things differently. I have never had such supportive, empathetic, creative conferencing sessions before. Mrs. Harris inspired us!" Writing Consultant -- Vermont Department of Education: "When I heard about CLiF's new writing workshop program, it was like a little dream come true. There is such a need out there in rural elementary schools." Shelters Shelter Advocate -- Portsmouth, NH: "On behalf of all the women and children served through our shelter I would like to thank CLiF for its work and the scholarship of books which we were awarded this year. Many women who escape domestic violence situations do so with children. When the children enter our shelter they are confronted with a change in their family and house. Most of these children have had to leave everything they own, including their favorite books, behind. Through your donations we will be able to give the children a book of their own to hold on to and a shelter library to borrow stories from." Program Director -- Burlington, VT: "There is still a collection of CLiF books on-site (1 ½ years later) and they are read every day. Volunteers and staff read every day to the children. It's part of our regular program. I think the gift of books is a gift of ideas for the children. By giving them tools to explore you allow the children to find something within themselves. We were thrilled to receive a CLiF sponsorship. The quality of the books is great, the gamut of books is great, and the age range is great. It's a nugget for us. I loved the way Duncan presented the books and he had the children riveted. There's no better way to show the joys of reading." Refugee Children New Hampshire State Refugee Coordinator: "We really don't have book or story activities for parents and children together. Many of the adults are pre-literate and the children are starting to learn English so they're at different levels. By providing access to books and family storytelling in English and in their native language you support literacy for the whole family. CLiF's program fit into our activities very well." ELL Coordinator -- Barre, VT: "I want to thank you on behalf of the immigrant and refugee children, and the ESL teaching staff, for the wonderful storytelling and book donation event. The students were delighted with the storytelling and very appreciative of the gift of books. I saw many of them selecting books for a younger brother or sister, as well as choosing for their own personal interests. There is no doubt in my mind that these volumes from CLiF will be read and reread many times. ELL teachers must use a combination of clear language, judicious gestures, and unlimited enthusiasm to be successful -- and you showed all of these skills in your very impressive presentation. Students talked about it for days afterwards!" Summer Readers Daycamp Director, Castleton, VT: "Our campers were enthralled by the CLiF presentation... They were delighted to learn they could select three books for their own. Some campers said they had never owned a book before." Children of Prison Inmates Education Counselor, NH State Prison for Women, Goffstown, NH: "Dear CLiF: Thank you very much for your generous donation of books to the children of inmates for Mother's Day. We continue to supply our visiting room with books for the families to read together. The mothers and their children were delighted to receive these special gifts, and we heard many expressions of appreciation. The Children's Literacy Foundation sponsorship was truly a blessing this spring." Administrator of Programs -- NH Department of Corrections, Berlin, NH: "The books are fabulous; the selections are a positive addition to the visiting room at NCF. To maintain the standard set by you during your presentation and reading, the facility will attempt to develop a special area in the visiting room to display the books and offer a quiet sanctuary to explore the selections and read. Your enthusiasm for your work and the dedication you exhibit is contagious. You inspire us with the possibilities that books and literacy projects could provide to our visiting inmate children." Migrant Children Camp Exclamation Point Director: "Working with CLiF is a natural fit. We're interested in helping the same kids, and we both want the children to have positive experiences at CAMP!, in school, and have successful lives. Each year CLiF seems to do even more for the kids, and I've been blown away by the stories and all the beautiful books CLiF gives away to the campers." Families with Newborns Good Beginnings of Sullivan County, Claremont, NH: "The CLiF sponsorship was wonderful. One of our goals is to improve literacy with our families so it fit perfectly with what we are doing." Bright Beginnings, Lancaster, NH: " Siblings reading to babies and making up stories is great to see and with the CLiF books that's happening. Some families cannot afford to buy books and are so pleased to receive them." Bookmobiles Bookmobile/Children's Services Director --Williston, VT: "I'm sure of CLiF having a positive impact on our numbers. CLiF books circulated like hotcakes. We added a new stop last summer, the trailer park in St. George, which is quite far from the library. I coordinated my visit with the time when the children were receiving their free lunch. This stop became the highlight of my week. These children were so thrilled to borrow new, beautiful, shiny books. Even though the bookmobile only operates in the summer, I continued that visit until November when it became just too cold to drive the bookmobile. The bookmobile collection started with donations which were primarily tired looking books. We had no book budget and it's great to have these new books to entice the children." Bookmobile Coordinator -- Laconia, NH: "Thanks to your generous donation, 1,225 children and parents/caregivers were able to borrow 233 books during the summer. [Our bookmobile] uniquely supports our agency's commitment to self-sufficiency, community involvement, and engagement of the private sector in our efforts to make an impact on the causes of poverty in the communities of Belknap and Merrimack Counties. By providing community-focused outreach with fun literacy activities and the distribution of children's books for families with young children we deliver an important message: 'With Reading You Can Go Anywhere.'" Rainy Day Sponsorship Teacher --Lunenberg/Gilman, VT: "There is one 5th grade boy who was just not all that interested in reading. In choosing CLiF books, he took a David Budbill book and loved it. He read that book twice and has now finished his second Budbill book and loved that as well. He's now writing a letter to David Budbill asking him to come to the school! None of this would have been possible if not for CLiF." Conferences Low-Income Housing Head Start Head Start Coordinator -- Montpelier, VT: "Thank you so much for your great presentation for our Head Start parents, and for the storytelling for the families. We received lots of positive feedback from the parents and children, and they all love the books." Parents, Lamoille County Head Start -- Morrisville, VT: "We greatly appreciated your time, storytelling, and the wonderful books you shared. Everyone walked away with books they will treasure for years to come and a better understanding of why it's important to read to our children." Childcare and Daycare