Featured Program: Words Travel
Words Travel is a national literacy and family strengthening program that strengthens the bonds between incarcerated parents and their children through reading. Words Travel is a partnership of Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company; Volunteers of America, one of the nation’s largest human service organizations; and correctional facilities around the country. Since its start in 2002, the Words Travel program has reached more than 1,500 incarcerated parents —both men and women— and over 2,500 of their children in eight states throughout the country. The goals of the Words Travel program include fostering and maintaining a connection between the incarcerated parent and child, providing a positive experience between the parent and child through reading, and promoting an interest in reading on the part of both the parent and child.
As part of Words Travel, parents learn about the different genres of children's literature. They also learn about conversational reading—that is, how to best read aloud to their children. Through the multi-week Words Travel program, parents—both men and women—participate in a series of classes to learn how they can play a key role in supporting their child's reading development, even while serving time. Parents then read and record books on tape for their children. The books and tapes are sent to the children or given to them during their visits at the correctional facility. Children participating in the program also receive a special book bag, personal tape player and additional books. The children are able to keep everything and can listen to their parent’s voice and read along as often as they like. The program is centered around a family literacy program developed by Scholastic. Scholastic donates the books and provides an annual grant to Volunteers of America for local program implementation. Currently, Words Travel is provided at nine facilities in six states – Illinois, Indiana, Maine, New York, South Dakota and Washington. Great care is put into Words Travel by all of the partners to ensure that the program benefits parents and their children while meeting the needs of the partner facility. Words Travel supports parenting and re-entry goals and works in prison, jail and community corrections settings. The program exemplifies Scholastic and Volunteers of America’s commitment to enhancing the lives of children and families.