By Kayla Henson
Smart Start
Columbus County Partnership for Children’s Early Learning and Family Resource Center (ELF) now has resources for children who are blind or visually impaired.
These resources are offered in Braille, a system of reading and writing based on touch in which raised dots represent the letters of the alphabet. They consist of children’s books in Braille, books to help learners of Braille, alphabet and number blocks.
“Through communications with Columbus County Schools, we learned that there was a need for Braille resources,” said Shaq Davis, outreach coordinator for The Partnership. “We strive to ensure that all of our resources at CCPC are inclusive and easily accessible for all families in Columbus County for children ages birth to 5, so we started a collection of Braille materials.”
The majority of the materials were acquired through the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, a nonprofit organization that helps blind children and adults throughout the United States through programs such as the Free Braille Books Program, whereby children who are blind can receive one free Braille book each month.
ELF also continues to offer resources in Spanish to meet the needs of the ever-growing Latino/Hispanic population in the county.
Parents and educators can check out ELF resources for a small fee or use them on-site at the ELF free of charge.
For additional information about Columbus County Partnership for Children, call 910-642-8226. Visit the office at 109 W. Main St. in Whiteville or online at www.columbussmartstart.com. You can also “Like” ColumbusSmartStart on Facebook for the latest events and updates.
The Early Learning and Family Resource Center (ELF) provides child development resources that parents, childcare providers and teachers can use to enhance the early care and education of children. A variety of children’s books, topic resource books, videos, resource kits, toys and other materials are available. ELF offers training and workshops as well as consumer materials in English and Spanish. ELF is open to the public, but materials are only available for checkout by ELF members. To learn more about ELF or how to become a member, call 910-212-6352.
