Reader's Digest And Parent-Child Home Program Salute The 2014 Reader's Digest Parent Literacy Champions

NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Reader's Digest Association in collaboration with the Parent-Child Home Program ("PCHP"), the leading early childhood literacy organization that promotes active parental involvement in early literacy and language development to ensure school readiness, today announced that Vincent Smith and Shatannah Johnson of Florence, South Carolina have been named the Reader's Digest 2014 Parent Literacy Champions.  They will receive the award this evening at the Parent-Child Home Program's Literacy Champions Gala to be held at the New York Athletic Club in New York City.

"We are so pleased to honor Vincent and Shatannah with our 2014 Parent Literacy Champions Award for the work they have done both to support their children's school readiness and school success and to achieve their own educational goals," said Bonnie Kintzer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Reader's Digest Association.  "Early childhood literacy is an incredibly worthy cause that all of us at Reader's Digest are proud to support.  We also want to thank our literacy partner, the Parent-Child Home Program, an organization that has been successfully working to improve early childhood literacy for nearly 50 years with its uniquely effective parent-child model. We are particularly grateful to PCHP for their special role in supporting Vincent, Shatannah, and their four sons in realizing their dreams."

"We are very proud of Vincent and Shatannah, and honored to have had the opportunity to work with them to achieve their school readiness goals for their youngest son, William, and ultimately the educational and career ambitions of Vincent," said Sarah Walzer, Chief Executive Officer of the Parent-Child Home Program.  "Our program is all about providing parents with the knowledge, skills, and tools to ensure their children have the language, literacy, and social-emotional skills they need to succeed once they enter school.  We often find that the Program has a positive impact on the entire family in wonderful ways that go far beyond the core school readiness goals."

The Story Behind This Year's Award

In the summer of 2012, Vincent and Shatannah enrolled their son William in the Parent-Child Home Program site in Florence, South Carolina School District #1, which focuses on helping under-resourced families prepare their children for school success.  PCHP's early literacy school readiness model is based on providing twice-weekly home visits for families with young children (ages 2 – 4) where home visitors use gifts of curricular items, books and educational toys, to show parents the most effective way to read, talk, and play with their children so they can be better prepared to succeed in school.  William's father, inspired by William's progress and with the encouragement of their PCHP home visitor and his family, returned to school to get his GED.  Both William and his father achieved their goals, graduating!  Now, William is doing wonderfully in school and Vincent is a star employee at his full-time job.  He and Shatannah can now begin to live their dream of supporting their four boys and watching them grow and learn. 

Media Contact:
The Reader's Digest Association / Parent-Child Home Program
David Press Tel: 917.721.7046

SOURCE Reader's Digest Association