American Girl Doll Project

Starting in April 2016, the Junior League of Lake Charles expanded its partnership with the Calcasieu Parish Public Libraries with a new, literacy-focused program: Read to Your Doll.  This rotating, monthly program is hosted by the Literacy Committee at nearly every library branch in the parish.  It was inspired by the Calcasieu Parish Public Library’s existing “Fun with Fideaux” events.  Programs such as these allow young children to gain confidence reading aloud to a nonjudgemental audience.  Dolls and toys offer an alternative audience and are widely available to most children.  These events are for everyone!  Boys and girls of all ages are welcomed and invited to bring any doll, toy, or stuffed animal they wish.  The program is an extension of the American Girl® doll partnership with the library but is meant to serve a greater purpose and meet the needs of a wider audience.  The Literacy Committee begins each event by reading a story aloud, helps facilitate participating children’s individual doll reading time, offers light refreshments, and provides coloring sheets.  League volunteers have several American Girl® dolls on hand at each event for children to read to if they wish.

Dates, times and library locations for the Read to Your Doll programs can be found on the Junior League calendar and at https://calcasieulibrary.org/events

Read for the Record

Read for the Record® is a global movement that was launched over a decade ago to address the importance of building early literacy and language skills for EVERY child. It is the world’s largest shared reading experience and the Junior League of Lake Charles is proud to continue its participation through the Literacy Committee.
Junior League volunteers read a book chosen by Jumpstart to students across Calcasieu Parish every October.  In 2022, we read Nigel and the Moon.  For more information on Read for the Record check out https://www.jstart.org/read-for-the-record/. Please contact literacy@jllc.net if you are interested in having your school as part of this event!

In 2021 a Read for the Record Community Event was created.

This is event is open to all children and families in our community.  Each year we have a guest speaker read the book of the year to students.

Reader Feeders

The Literacy Committee has commissioned, installed, and continues to maintain Reader Feeders at locations across the Lake Charles community. 
The Reader Feeders are shaped like wooden houses and serve as a home for books that area children and their parents can pick up, read, return, or even keep!  It is a fun way to promote the love of reading and, in turn, help our community’s youth build vital literacy skills for their future.

The League’s partnership with HeadStart helps meet our mission-driven goals by giving local children access to books and showing them that reading is a shared activity and there are people here to help them learn.  At these events we encourage families to read together.  The library brings a large selection of books and League volunteers guide children through literacy-based activities.  There are several of these events at different HeadStart locations throughout the year.  Please check the JLLC calendar or contact literacy@jllc.net for more information.