The books are still going up on the shelves, and New Haven Reads — which gave away 129,000 volumes last year — has opened for business at its new home in the Dixwell neighborhood. Now “super volunteer” Jasmine Gilchrist (in photo) can walk down the street from her home to tutor younger kids.
That fresh new carpet smell filled the air inside the heroic organization’s new home at the corner of Bristol and Ashmun streets Thursday as the crew unpacked boxes moved from its prior home on Audubon Street. New Haven Reads takes donations of “gently used” books for people of all ages. It puts the books on the shelves for anyone to take home free. Besides serving as a “book bank,” New Haven Reads runs free tutoring programs and reading and writing clubs for city kids. (The center stays open Monday through Friday from 1 to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from noon to 4. To donate or volunteer, call 752-1923 or send an e-mail.)
The freshly painted brick building is at the heart of a reviving part of the Dixwell neighborhood. Yale donated the building, which a construction company formerly rented. Across the street Yale is putting the finishing touches on the Rose Center, its new police station and community center. Working families have been buying the new homes at Frances Hunter Drive a block south; the Monterey Homes have put a shine on the landscape of the old Elm Haven projects a block to the north.
Over 90 children currently come to New Haven Reads for tutoring. Another 42 are on the waiting list.
The tutors include Jasmine (in photo), a freshman at Career High. Jasmine also helps out on the computer; Thursday she updated the list of people who work at the organization. She loves it at New Haven Reads.
“I just like kids a lot,” Jasmine said. “School is something I like to do. I don’t want to be a teacher, but I like working with youth.”
