As Fund Advisor Michael Desroches explains, “Raising a Reader’s award-winning, evidence-based programs help caring adults set their children up for success by creating shared reading routines. Those are the skills that we created the Fund to foster in our work of Advancing Young Minds.”

Established in 2022 at Main Street Community Foundation, the Myra Boccardi Desroches Advancing Young Minds Fund was created by Myra’s family to honor her life and her passion for children, teaching, and literacy. The Fund’s advisors, Michael Desroches and Rebecca Boccardi Zappone, Myra’s husband and sister respectively, support the Fund’s mission by recommending organizations that provide literacy services and resources needed to make literature more accessible to young minds.

Raising a Reader does that by supporting not just students, but entire families. “Family engagement is at the core of what we do,” notes Lori Borysewicz, Plymouth FRC Coordinator. “We have designed our programs to foster social emotional learning and healthy family relationships, while teaching our children the learning skills they will need to thrive in school and beyond. We are grateful to the Advancing Young Minds Fund at MSCF for helping us further that mission here in Plymouth.”

The Plymouth FRC will be presenting the Raising A Reader literacy program for children 5 years of age and under with their adult caregiver. The program will be offered to twelve families over a 12-week period. The FRC will be following the Raising a Reader model and tailor programs to the needs of the families who join. Their goal is to place books into each home to grow the family library and to expose children to the amazing world of books. Funds from the grant will be used to purchase books for the families in the program.

For more information on The Myra Boccardi Desroches Advancing Young Minds Fund at Main Street Community Foundation, or to make a donation, visit http://fundraising.advancingyoungminds.org.