Babies & Books Thanks
Dear Editor: Founded in 1991, Sitka Babies and Books is a nonprofit organization that encourages Sitka children to become lifelong readers by providing books and special events for them during their first three years of life. Monthly programs are presented at the library that encourage parent participation, and explore not only books, but art, music, dance, sensory integration, rhythm, and play.
It is only through the support, both monetary and personal, of many Sitka groups and individuals that we are able to continue presenting these programs and offering free books to the children who participate. So it is with our most gracious thanks that we would like to recognize those who helped make 2024 a great library experience for more than 400 children and members of their families.
Thank you T.J. Witherspoon, Cody Mosley and Smokey Bear from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game; Melinda McAdams, Jo DeBell and Eva Miller from the Sitka Studio of Dance; Mt. Edgecumbe High School Education Rising Program students and the MEHS Native Youth Olympics Teams, led by instructors Nestor Wilkinson, Matthew Potter and Chohla Moll; Sitka Library Staff; SEARHC Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center Hospital staff; special helpers Vera and Arlie Witherspoon; KCAW Raven Radio; Old Harbor Books; The Daily Sitka Sentinel; The Sitka Legacy Foundation (an affiliate of the Alaska Community Foundation); Sitka White Elephant; Friends of the Library; United States Coast Guard Spouses’ and Women’s Association of Sitka; Sitka Rotary Club; Sitka CHARR; Sitka Woman’s Club; Jackie DiGennaro; Harry Race/White’s Pharmacy Soda Fountain (tips for July); Leslie Dupuis at The Raven’s Hook; and ESPECIALLY to all the participants, including children, siblings, mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends, who participated in our Sitka Babies and Books events.
With very sincere thanks,
Sitka Babies and Books
