Literacy Rich Northwest

Together with friends and neighbors, Mt. Airy CDC is helping build a Literacy Rich Neighborhood in Germantown, PA.

The Community Reading Nest

We designed and built a literacy installation for children and their caregivers, called “The Nest.” Designed and fabricated to serve local families, the Nest will inspire and support meaningful literacy experiences between children, their families, and their caregivers. It is a safe and inviting place to share stories, to read and be read to, to play with words, to write and tell stories, and generally to delight in language. Read the press release

Our Story

Our free, outdoor reading camp on Holman Field in Germantown (near Historic Johnson House) started out as an idea at another Play Street site in Germantown, where a staff member spent the summer reading books to children every day and noticed a lot of kids were home without the benefit of a summer camp experience—even though there was a city summer camp in walking distance nearby. Block Captain Muriel Brown’s invitation to read to children that summer was the inspiration for our insight to meet children and families where they are by creating our Holman Field Summer Reading Camp—a free, outdoor, walk-in summer reading camp. Our reading camp serves K-3 students and is staffed by retired educators, middle-school/high school peer-mentors, and longtime residents of the neighborhood!

Literacy Rich Neighborhood

In a little corner of historic Germantown, something exciting and promising is brewing, thanks to a small group of committed neighbors, families, organizations: We’re creating our very own Literacy Rich Neighborhood.

We’re part of the citywide grade-level reading campaign spearheaded by Read by 4th. Our ambitious but doable goal? To get every child in Philadelphia reading at or above grade level by the end of 3rd grade.

We’re looking for passionate, literacy-minded folk interested in learning more about our goals and activities, getting involved, and supporting innovative initiatives like Reading Captains, Reading Spaces Everywhere, and a labor of love close to our heart—a little-summer-camp-that-could of sorts—Holman Field Reading Camp, our flagship program, a summer outdoor reading camp and city lunchsite that’s easy-to-walk-to and free.

With funding from William Penn Foundation, we’re transforming public spaces through the lens of playful learning, looking for hosts and locations for outdoor, play-focused installations, a Mural Arts’ MURAL and billboard, and more!