March 17, 2023
The summer reading program at Community Housing Partners is coming back with in-person book fairs for kids at selected CHP apartment communities in Virginia and Maryland. The program offers free books, snacks, and art activities to children and youth, as well as the opportunity to read and listen to stories. 2023 is going to be extra special, as it marks five years of CHP Reads!
CHP, a nonprofit organization that provides affordable and sustainable housing throughout the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, first launched the CHP Reads! Summer Reading Program in 2019 to help young residents at its apartment communities offset the loss of academic learning over the summer months. Reading while school is out builds language development, cultural awareness, and inspires curiosity and imagination.
To celebrate the CHP Reads! initiative’s fifth birthday, CHP is offering the program to grandparents living in some of CHP’s senior communities. For children, sharing reading with a grandparent develops key life skills and social and communication abilities.
The reading program has been steadily growing and evolving since its inception in 2019. Over the life of the program, CHP staff and volunteers have given out 14,000 books, installed eight new Little Free Libraries, and served over 1,700 youth.
To make this year the best one yet, CHP is gathering donations to purchase book packs, install more Little Free Libraries, and stock book fair activities and distribution tables. Since 2019, the program has passed out books to youth with the help of 361 CHP employees and volunteers, as well as online donors. Visit the Bucks for Books fundraising page for more information about making a contribution.
The return of the CHP Reads! Summer Reading Program will coincide with National NeighborWorks Week (June 3-10), a week-long celebration where NeighborWorks organizations spotlight their collective impact and show how they strengthen communities. CHP has been a chartered member of NeighborWorks America since 2003.
Participating Virginia properties include Ansell Gardens Apartments in Portsmouth; Belleville Meadows Apartments in Suffolk; Cedar Crest Apartments in Blacksburg; Checed Warwick Apartments in Newport News; Cross Creek Apartments in Portsmouth; Dolly Ann Apartments in Covington; Friendship Village Apartments in Virginia Beach; Greenstone on 5th Apartments in Charlottesville; Heather Glen Apartments in Radford; Henley Place Apartments in Christiansburg; Holly Court Apartments in Kilmarnock; Huckleberry Court Apartments Chriinstiansburg; Kippax Place Apartments in Hopewell; Kingsridge Apartments in Richmond; Lafayette Elderly and Lafayette Family Apartments in Williamsburg; Laurel Woods Apartments in Pulaski; Linden Green Apartments in Christiansburg; Linden Grove Apartments in Christiansburg; Maplewood Apartments in Martinsville; Meadowview Apartments in Pulaski; Northway Apartments in Galax; Old Orchard Apartments in Pearisburg; Overlook Terrace Apartments in Fredericksburg; Parkview Gardens Apartments in Farmville; Rivermeade Apartments in Yorktown; The Summit in Hopewell; The Woods at Yorktown in Yorktown; Townsquare at Dumfries in Dumfries; Wellesley Commons Apartments in Newport News; and Yorktown Square Apartments in Yorktown.
In Maryland, participating properties include J. Van Story Branch Apartments and Primose Place Apartments, both of which are in Baltimore.