Join us for the July edition of Community Connections presented by the United Way on WTIC 1080AM!

Maura Cook, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Development, joins the program to get listeners to think about the summer slide.

The summer slide is when students suffer learning loss while they are out of school on summer break. The United Way is committed to help students keep reading while school is out.

Cook also wants to remind those in New Britain and Hartford that the Dolly Parton Imagination library allows children to receive one age-appropriate book a month from birth-age five at no cost!

More reading initiatives will be happening this year including, Read Across America Day (Oct. 24, 2024), Read for the Record, United Way Readers, and the United Way will be putting together literacy kits together.

John Prescod, Director, Education Initiatives at the United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut joins Cook today to talk about his work with the organization.

Prescod and Cook are happy to announce that the United Way and Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford (JFGH) have merged JFGH’s Children’s Reading Partners program with the existing United Way Readers program!

The United Way turned 100 years old on June 14, and they are continuing the celebration the rest of the year! The Impact awards will be held on October 25. They will also be hosting a centennial gala in December. Tickets are available now

• To sign children up for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, please go to: www.unitedwayinc.org/our-work/youth-success/imagination-library
• To purchase tickets for the centennial gala, please go to: www.unitedwayinc.org/centennial-gala
• To learn more, donate, or volunteer, please reach out to 211 go to: www.unitedwayinc.org