Crapo Celebrates â??Dia De Los Niñosâ??

Washington, DC â?? Nearly 1,000 books will be donated to local Idaho libraries in honor of â??Dia de los Niñosâ?? (Day of the Children) through the efforts of Idaho Senator Mike Crapo. Dia de los Niños is a holiday celebrated by many countries to recognize and celebrate the importance of children. Idaho was the first state in the nation to have an official â??Childrenâ??s Day,â?? which was passed by the State Legislature in March of 2003. Crapo is an original co-sponsor of Senate Resolution 342, designating April 30, 2004, as "Dia de los Niños," which marks the day for commemoration. That measure cleared the Senate late yesterday by unanimous consent. Crapoâ??s donations will be made on Friday, April 30th, in four Idaho citiesâ??Caldwell, Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, and Burley.â??Dia de los Niños has deep roots in the Latino culture, and I am pleased that we have an opportunity to commemorate the day in Idaho,â?? Crapo said. â??Libraries throughout Idaho and local community partners are one of the best avenues to promote reading, and the book donations today will focus on primary readers. When children have books of their own, they are more inclined to read. And the more they read, the better they will learn. Reading is a fundamental building block for a solid education, and I appreciate the efforts of all those who have partnered with me to provide these books at no cost.â??â??All the research indicates that reading 20 minutes a day with your children greatly increases their literacy and future success. But more importantly, as a parent, I also know those are the most rewarding 20 minutes of my day,â?? comments Dr. Albert Pacheco, Executive Director of the Idaho Migrant Council. â??I am proud to have the IMC work with Senator Crapo and the First Book organization to distribute books in our community. The correlations between literacy skills, and oneâ??s academic success and future economic well-being have been well documented. This effort gets books into the hands of those most at risk of not having reading materials in their homes.â??The executive director of the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs, Margie Gonzalez, said, â??The Commission is pleased to be involved in working with statewide events marking Dia de los Niños and to support local efforts to celebrate the importance of children. The Commission led the effort to bring this event to our state and looks forward to more collaboration in years to come to recognize this important event.â??The Idaho Migrant Council and the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs partnered with Crapo to provide the books and gift bags at various locations. The books were donated from the Library of Congress surplus and the First Book national organization. Crapoâ??s staff will make the book donations at the following locations, dates, and times:CaldwellSerenity Park, next to the Caldwell LibraryApril 30, 3:00-5:00 p.m.Idaho FallsIdaho Falls Public Library May 4, 11:30 a.m. Twin FallsEl Milagro Housing Community CenterApril 30, 4:00-7:00 p.m.1122 S. Washington AvenueBurleyDworshak Elementary SchoolApril 30, 10:00 a.m.102 E. 19th Avenue# # #