Press Release
For immediate release
Contact: Pat LaMarche
Epicjourney10@gmail.com
Books About the Education of Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness Available to Kids for Free!
The Charles Bruce Foundation – in coordination with ECYEH, the Education of Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness are giving books to school aged children throughout central Pennsylvania. The books, Kursid Kids Winter Turns, feature a fantastic cast of characters – including a family experiencing homelessness. In the book, an uneven world provides situations where great wealth is had by a few, at the expense of the many who struggle to keep society moving forward. The Kursid family – when discovered living in the woods – move in with a friend. This condition – experienced by hundreds of thousands of children in the U.S. is referred to as “doubled up.”
The US Department of Education numbers say that 2% of Pennsylvania school kids are currently experiencing homelessness. That’s nearly 40,000 children who have no permanent, stable home. It’s important for those kids to see themselves in literature, but it’s also important for their peers to understand homelessness as well. Sonia Pitzi, Regional Coordinator for central Pa’s region 3, ECYEH will be distributing the books to children, parents, grandparents and caring loved ones throughout the month of March.
Additionally – the books are available for free during regular business hours at Whistlestop Bookshop, 129 West High Street in Carlisle and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Cumberland Valley, 2 Forge Road, Boiling Springs. Call ahead to the church for times.
Rev. Chris Kapp, pastor at UUCV, voiced excitement to be part of a program getting books about homelessness into the hands of young people. “In this age of banning books and trying to push marginalized people further into the shadows, the Kursid Kids books amplify the voices of our unhoused neighbors.” Kapp continued, “Our mission here at UUCV is to transform lives and care for the world. Putting books like these in the hands of local children is one small, practical way to do that.”
Karen Eckrich, board member for the Charles Bruce Foundation voiced her appreciation to the Partnership for Better Health which has provided on-going financial support for the support of juvenile literacy and the distribution of books. Eckrich has experienced homelessness and knows how important understanding the issue can be when it comes to seeking solutions. “Kursid Kids Winter Turns is an imperative read for kids and their adults!” Highlighting the fact that the book was co-authored by a ten-year-old boy concerned about the kids in his school that have no homes, Eckrich continued, “Penned by a child, it shows great empathy for the Kursid Family as they attempt to survive in the Magnates world.”
Eckrich added, “Kursid Kids Winter Turns gives kids an inside view on how their homeless school mates survive.”
Kursid Kids Winter Turns is a self-contained second installment of a trilogy written by Ronan Russell and his grandmother, journalist and national homeless advocate, Pat LaMarche. Kursid Kids Winter Turns is published by the Charles Bruce Foundation located in Carlisle, Pa.
#########