Get outside with the Kid’s Konnection literacy program in Twin Cities

A collaboration between the Twin City Chamber of Commerce and the Claymont Library and local author Farrah Raines will have children doing more reading and walking this summer in Dennison and Uhrichsville through the Kid’s Konnection. The new program began earlier this month and will culminate on Aug. 12 from 9-11:30 a.m. at the Dennison village gazebo.

The project started with the idea of a book walk but morphed into something that will bring families and children together with their community.

Pages of Raines’ book, “Tons of Tools To Help Me Be Me,” will be featured at various businesses and organizations. The book features ideas to get children to think about things they can do to better handle their feelings and encourages them to talk to others.

Children can visit the participating locations to read a page of the book, then go inside the business to get their cards marked to be eligible for goodie bags during the Aug. 12 event.

Raines also will host a program for the kids including a book reading at the August event.

There will be refreshments, and other organizations also will join including Lacey Performing Arts Center, Advocates for Success Drum Corps, Empower Tusc and others. Anyone wanting to participate may call the Twin City Chamber of Commerce at 740-922-5623 or email office@twincitychamber.org.

The Kid’s Konnection program is a continuation of the Claymont Public Library’s summer reading program.

“This kind of extends it in a different way because they’re still reading and they’re still talking about what they’re reading, but they’re doing it with businesses. And they’re not sitting in a library; they’re out in the open air,” said Beth DiDonato, executive director of the Twin City Chamber of Commerce. “The businesses that we talked to love the idea.”

DiDonato sees the project as something they can expand on in the future if they host it again.

Another part of the program is walking. As part of the Fit Youth Initiative program, any youth participating in the Kid’s Konnection program can log their walks to earn credit. Combining reading and exercise is a real benefit for children, and it can help them learn about their community.

“It extends reading but in a different way. It involves some of the businesses and gives the businesses a chance to talk to kids,” DiDonato said.

For families doing the project together, it will give them a chance to learn about some of the businesses and organizations participating.

Each Kid’s Konnection participant will receive a card with 20 sections on it. After each page is read, the participant enters the business and tells the owner why they are there, and they describe what the page says before their card is marked.

Completed cards can be turned in at the library or at the event on Aug. 12. If a child reads the pages when a business is closed, they can either tell the business owner what the page said or stop in at the Twin City Chamber of Commerce office to get their card stamped.

Participating businesses and organizations in Uhrichsville are as follows:

—Page one and author information: Claymont Public Library.

—Page two: Camp the Backyard.

—Page three: Pin Drop Shop.

—Page four: East of Chicago.

—Page five: Salt of the Earth.

—Page six: Rod’s Donut Shop.

—Page seven: Twin City Chamber of Commerce.

—Page eight: Mako’s Market.

—Page nine: First Federal Bank.

Participating businesses and organizations in Dennison are as follows:

—Page 10: First National Bank.

—Pages 11-12: Furniture Warehouse.

—Page 13: MHS Hardware.

—Page 14: Twin City Water Department.

—Page 15: Dennison Fire Department.

—Page 16: Pelegreen’s.

—Page 17: Hair Depot.

—Page 18: The Yard.

—Pages 19-20: Claymont Public Library.

An upcoming project of the Twin City Chamber of Commerce is its annual golf scramble on Friday, Sept. 29 at Big Bend Golf Course. Registration will be at 9 a.m. with a shotgun start at 10 a.m. There will be cash prizes for the first- and second-place teams and closest to the pin. The cost is $250 per four-person team and includes skins, 18 holes, a golf cart, gift, and food at turn and after the tournament. There also will be a 50/50 drawing and gift basket raffle.

Also coming up is a free breakfast event on Sept. 8 at Claymont Health and Rehab from 8-10 a.m.

“There’s going to be somebody from the economic development committee and/or a chamber board member at each table. They’re going to generate discussion about what others want to see the chamber do for them, what they would like us to do,” DiDonato said. “They’ll get to hear at the very beginning some of the things that we have done — for example, business grants and some of the things that we have accomplished so far — but we want to hear from them.”

Visit the chamber at www.twincitychamber.org or on Facebook at Twin City Chamber of Commerce.