Santa Maria Community Services Partners with Mount St. Joseph University for ''Reading with a Twist in the Park / Conversemos en el Parque”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 14, 2024

CONTACT: 
Christy Cauley 
Santa Maria Community Services, Inc.
Christy.Cauley@SantaMaria-Cincy.org
(513) 557-7297

CINCINNATI, OH – Santa Maria Community Services, Inc. is pleased to announce another collaborative
event, "Reading with a Twist in the Park/Conversemos en el Parque!,” as part of its Promoting our
Preschoolers (POP) program. The POP program is once again teaming up with Dr. Sisan Cuervo, a
bilingual speech-language pathologist and assistant professor in the Department of Speech Language
and Hearing Sciences at Mount St. Joseph University. Dr. Cuervo and her graduate students will be
offering story-time and language enrichment groups in English and Spanish.

"Reading with a Twist in the Park / Conversemos en el Parque" Details:

• What: Reading with a Twist in the Park! Story-time & language enrichment groups
• Where: Rapid Run Park
• When: Thursdays between June 6 and July 11 (no meeting on July 4)
• Time: 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
• Who: Any preschool-age children ages 3-5
• RSVP: 513-235-7721

This collaboration, made possible by a generous grant from the Scripps Howard Fund, aims to enhance
cognitive and language skills among pre-kindergarten students through engaging activities and literacy
support. Offering the program in Spanish ensures inclusivity and provides an opportunity for families from
diverse linguistic backgrounds to benefit fully.

Previous reading camps combined with home visits have seen remarkable results. These initiatives align
with Santa Maria's goals of empowering communities and fostering a love for reading.

Santa Maria President and CEO H.A. Musser, Jr., expressed enthusiasm about this bilingual event, stating, "We are thrilled to once again collaborate with Dr. Cuervo for preschool reading camps. This event showcases our dedication to early literacy and community engagement."

Group facilitator Dr. Sisan Cuervo said, "We are excited to once again partner with Santa Maria
Community Services for 'Reading with a Twist in the Park/Conversemos en el Parque!' This collaboration allows us to celebrate rich language environments amongst all children and foster a love for reading within our communities."