HERMISTON – The Eastern Oregon Reading Foundation has paired with other area organizations to promote literacy from birth to first grade, said Ann Jones of the foundation.

The foundation received $500 from the Good Shepherd Medical Center Auxiliary to purchase bags for the “Books For Babies” project, which supplies books for newborns and their parents.

The books came from Jean and Dave Conklin of Hermiston and from the Umatilla Morrow County Education Service District. The ESD also provided the printing and laminating of a poster and parent note card on paper provided by the Hermiston Friends of the Library.

The bags include a bib; a note card explaining the purpose of the packet and who provided the materials; a laminated poster, “The ABCs of Helping Your Child Read” and a children’s book. The poster offers 27 ways to help make your child a reader including singing songs, asking questions, listening and responding to your child, playing games with your child, kissing and hugging your child.

The packets are given to the parents of newborn babies before they leave the hospital.

“We have enough for two years for the Pendleton and Hermiston hospitals and some for the Heppner hospital,” Jones said. “Without everyone’s help we couldn’t do this.”

The JOBS program at Blue Mountain Community College assembled the packets for the foundation.

“I did the footwork,” Jones said. “But Irene (Avila) did the real work.”

Avila is with JOBS and helped assemble the 2,400 packets and cut out all the laminated posters.

“I enjoy doing it,” Avila said. “I wish I’d gotten something like this when I had my five kids.”