Police Officers Collecting Toys until 5:00 PM.
Members of the Westport Police Department, Westport Police Benevolent Association, and their accompanying family members were all smiles under their masks as members of the community dropped off their toy donations for underprivileged children in Fairfield County, including those at both Bridgeport and St. Vincent’s hospitals. They will be on-scene at the toy collection site outside of the ASF Sports & Outdoors store, 1560 Post Road East, until 5:00 PM today.
Coffee Shop Traffic Spills onto Post Road East
This was the scene this morning outside of the Starbucks location at 1000 Post Road East as traffic slowed both eastbound and westbound to navigate the caffeine-seeking customers in line for the drive-thru. Since the COVID-19 crisis began, the long line can often be seen as customers seek contactless service.
Collecting Gifts for Adults in the Imperial Avenue Lot Today
Marcy Sansolo, the founder of the popular Facebook group What Up Westport, collects a gift donation from Westporter Susan Connors in the Imperial Avenue Parking Lot today.
Marcy explains the unique purpose of the drive: “For the past three years, we have together as a community helped the Rafaela House in Bridgeport. The children who attend the Rafaela House are from financially compromised households. But that doesn’t mean they don’t want to give their loved ones gifts and get gifts themselves. A ‘store’ is set up, and the children are able to ‘shop’ for their parents, siblings, and extended family. We will be collecting brand new unwrapped toys, electronics, wallets, hats, gloves, socks, puzzles and books.”
The drive will be taking place until 1:00 PM today.
Library & PTA Initiative: Finding Diverse Books
From the Westport Public Library & the Westport Public Schools PTA:
“FINDING DIVERSE BOOKS
An Initiative of the Westport Library and Westport Public School PTA
Westport, CT - The Westport Library and Westport Public School’s PTA Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are proud to announce the launch of Diverse Books Need Us, a curated list from the Library’s collection that feature characters that have been historically underrepresented in children’s literature. This significant initiative supports Westport’s commitment to provide an excellent education to our children and develop global citizens and future leaders.
The Library staff selections are targeted at four age/grade levels: kindergarten through 2nd grade, 3rd through 5th grade, middle school, and high school. Books were selected and will continually be updated that feature characters who are Asian, Latinx, Black, LGBTQ, Native American, have a disability, or are Neurodiverse.
Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, who first posited the concept of windows and mirrors as it applies to children’s literature, was a major influence on this initiative.
“Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created or recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection, we can see our own lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience. Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation, and readers often seek their mirrors in books.”
“We live in a diverse world where all children want to see themselves in the stories they read,” said Westport Library Executive Director Bill Harmer. “The books we’ve selected provide windows and mirrors for the children of Westport and will help them become empathetic adults.”
“This initiative features curated book lists with characters who are often underrepresented in our storytelling,” said Ngassam Ngnoumen, Co-Chair for the Westport Public School PTA Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. “We hope these books help nurture a society that is connected through a shared humanity.”
To view Diverse Books Needs Us please visit https://westportlibrary.libguides.com/DiverseBooksNeedUs
To view the Library’s #OwnVoices Resource Guide visit https://westportlibrary.libguides.com/ownvoices
Own Voices is a term coined by the writer Corinne Duyvis and refers to an author from a marginalized or under-represented group writing about their own experiences and from their own perspective.”