Cabrini Immigrant Services (CIS), Dobbs Ferry, NY, held its Saturday Morning Reading Circles program during the month of July. Thanks to a grant from St. Faith’s House Foundation, our Cabrini Kids in Grades 1-6, were able to participate in the program. The Kids came to CIS for 4 Saturdays. Part of the morning was used to read the story, The Gingerbread Man and the rest of the morning was used to make costumes and props for the skit that they would be performing at St. Cabrini Nursing Home. Thanks to the grant, each child received a copy of the book, The Gingerbread Man as well as a 2nd book, with the encouragement to read over the summer.
CIS is blessed to have so many people helping with the program. Nora Maher, a storyteller, worked with the children on the script as well as their costumes and props. Rosann Russo, a teacher from Springhurst Elementary School, where many of our students attend school, read with the children as well as taught them different reading skills. Marilyn Rogers, one of our adult tutors assisted the students wherever the need existed. Our high school students helped the children with the making of the costumes and props. It certainly was a group effort.
On the last Saturday, our children and their parents went to the nursing home. It is good that the address of the nursing home is Broadway because the skit that was put on was certainly Broadway worthy! The pre-jitters, the last minute costume changes, etc. made it feel like it was a Broadway show. The children were wonderful. The residents had smiles on their faces from ear to ear. The parents were so proud to see their child performing. The children made gingerbread men out of construction paper. Each person received one of the gingerbread men along with a note thanking them for coming to the show.
Thank you to all who helped to make the program so successful.