04/01/13 Dr. Dave Barkmeier (shown with Shirley Bergman, manager of City News and Books) was the recent winner of the Marshall County Reading Council’s Books for Babies contest held at City News and Books in Plymouth. Customers who purchased baby board books for the project had their names entered in a drawing for a $25 gift card provided by the bookstore. Barkmeier promptly used his gift card to purchase 5 more books for the project. He is a great friend of this project and always purchases multiple books. Barkmeier was born and raised in Plymouth and, after many years as a psychology professor in Boston, returned to Plymouth upon his retirement.
The Reading Council also held a “jeans day” fund raiser in area schools this spring for the Books for Babies project. For a dollar donation, teachers were permitted (and encouraged by area principals) to support this worthy cause. Nearly $500 was raised which will be used to purchase additional books for babies. Each newborn in Marshall County is presented with 2 baby board books by the Reading Council along with a pamphlet explaining that reading to babies is the first step to achieving reading literacy.
