Cinco Puntos Press has been proud to collaborate with the
El Paso Community Foundation in its initial First Steps to Reading project. Modeled
from the national
Born to Read Program and the
Born to Read Program in San Antonio, First Steps to Reading, a pilot
program, will deliver high-quality bilingual “early concept” books to newborn
babies and their parents before they leave the hospital. Books will be
distributed at Sierra Providence East Medical Center in El Paso and at Hospital
de la
Familia in La
Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. “The El Paso Community Foundation is proud to provide
access to literacy by building home libraries which encourage reading from
birth to adulthood,” said Eric Pearson, president of the El Paso Community
Foundation.
The program’s goal is to improve literacy rates in the El
Paso community through ongoing, targeted interventions aimed at children and
their parents. By several measures, El
Paso lags behind the country in adult literacy rates. The National Assessment of Adult Literacy
estimated that 36% of El Paso County residents lacked basic literacy skills in
English. The state average is 23%. A separate study, America’s Most Literate
Cities, ranks El Paso 69
th out of 75 cities in the literacy
resources that it affords its citizens.
“We are delighted to
support this literacy program in its inception,” said Johnny Byrd, managing
editor of Cinco Puntos Press. “El Paso and our region is a bilingual
community, and we believe our bilingual books—rooted like they are in the first-hand
experience of both languages—can be used as an antidote to the problems of
literacy here.”
In its first year, the program will deliver 4,200 books to newly
born children and their parents at the selected hospitals. The three books
selected are from the Cinco Puntos bilingual series “Early Concepts in Mexican
Folk Art” by Cynthia Weill in collaboration with three different groups of
Oaxaca artisans: Opuestos, Abecedarios and Colores.
The El Paso Community Foundation has granted $20,000 for First Steps to Reading, and is encouraging other funding partners—corporate or individual—to contribute. For more information contact the Foundation via
epcf.org.
 |
FEMAP staff Alejando and Vicente
pick up books at Cinco Puntos to take to Juárez |
 |
EPCF President Eric Pearson and CPP Managing Editor Johnny Byrd
at presentation of books to staff at Sierra Providence Medical Center |
 |
These are some of the Sierra Providence staff who will be handing
parents and children the First Steps to Reading books! |
The program’s goal is to improve literacy rates in the El
Paso community through ongoing, targeted interventions aimed at children and
their parents. By several measures, El
Paso lags behind the country in adult literacy rates. The National Assessment of Adult Literacy
estimated that 36% of El Paso County residents lacked basic literacy skills in
English. The state average is 23%. A separate study, America’s Most Literate
Cities, ranks El Paso 69th out of 75 cities in the literacy
resources that it affords its citizens.
“We are delighted to
support this literacy program in its inception,” said Johnny Byrd, managing
editor of Cinco Puntos Press. “El Paso and our region is a bilingual
community, and we believe our bilingual books—rooted like they are in the first-hand
experience of both languages—can be used as an antidote to the problems of
literacy here.” 
In its first year, the program will deliver 4,200 books to newly
born children and their parents at the selected hospitals. The three books
selected are from the Cinco Puntos bilingual series “Early Concepts in Mexican
Folk Art” by Cynthia Weill in collaboration with three different groups of
Oaxaca artisans: Opuestos, Abecedarios and Colores. 
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