The Final State of the Union
This is historical material “frozen in time”. The website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work.
Summary:
Dottie Morin carried her passion for teaching outside of the classroom, volunteering to help new parents know the importance of reading to their children.
Ed. Note: Champions of Change is a weekly initiative to highlight Americans who are making an impact in their communities and helping our country rise to meet the many challenges of the 21st century.
My mom-in-law, Dottie Morin, has always had a passion for reading and learning, and has shared this passion with her children, grandchildren, and students throughout her life. Although she retired from teaching in 2006, she knew she wanted to become involved in some way with early literacy programs to continue to share her love for books with others. While reading a feature story about the Born to Read program in the Beaufort Gazette, she became intrigued with their mission, so she volunteered at a local birthing center. Dottie’s energy and enthusiasm earned the recognition of the Board, and after two years volunteering, she became a valued Board member, and is now serving her first year as the Chairman of the Board.
The Born to Read program currently has 30 volunteers who are trained to visit new parents in local hospitals the day after their baby is born to educate them on the importance of reading to their child. The parents are given a gift bag with new books and various literacy materials. Their statistics are incredible! Their volunteers visited over 2,200 new mothers in 2010, 30% of which were military families. Their mission statement “to lay the foundation for academic success” continues to guide the organization in all that they do.
I am very proud of my mom-in-law! She is absolutely a Champion of Change who is dedicated to helping our smallest citizens by giving them a strong intellectual foundation to build their futures. When she learned of this honor, she summed it up best, “I want every child to have the opportunity to be successful and reading is the foundation for this. Early reading to children also promotes a bond between a child and parent that cannot be replaced by electronics. By reaching one mom, one child at a time, Born to Read, Inc. contributes to the success of our schools, our community and our country.”
Christine Morin nominated Dottie Morin to be a Champion of Change. Dottie Morin is the Chairman of the Board of "Born to Read" in Beaufort, South Carolina.
