NORTH VERNON — It’s not too late to sign-up for the Jennings County summer reading program.
The Tails and Tales Program has begun at the Jennings County Public Library in North Vernon. Participation is free and open to people of all ages from May 17 through July 17.
“This year we are changing things up a lot. We are trying to give things back to the community by helping to save our community’s animals,” said library spokeswoman Katie Hopkins.
The program is based on the concept of awarding points to registered participants for the amount of hours spent reading.
According to Hopkins, if the combined minutes of all the participants add up to 1 million points, all the donations of money and pet supplies will be donated to Mercy Rescue and Adoption, Inc. and Jennings County Animal Control.
“In the past, we have given awards to individuals based on the amount of points they had received for reading. This year, we are giving everyone a chance to give back by using their points to save animals,” Hopkins said.
While the summer reading program is held annually in libraries across the nation, the JCPL has added a few touches to the Tails and Tales campaign.
“We have added several activities and events that we designed for each of our five age groups,” Hopkins said.
There are five targeted age groups in the program: 0 to 5 years, 6 to 8 , 9 to 12, 13 to 18 and 19 and up.
There will be extra points given for children who can’t yet read. The person reading will receive points for each minute they read and the child will receive points for each minute they listen.
For the early childhood years, there are activities ranging from scavenger hunts to story hours.
Children aged 6 through 12 will have age-appropriate games, arts and crafts and cooking lessons and there will be special activities for the teen years including digital detective games, arts and crafts and sessions with visiting authors.
Adult activities include an art class, pet treats cooking class, wildlife photography class, genealogy research technique classes, pet first-aid, pet toy making, and more.
The program will include three family drive-in movie nights in the library parking lot. The three movies shown on a large inflatable screen will be “Dr. Dolittle,” “Jurassic Park” and “Pet Sematary.”
A special adult event will be the Mutts and Margaritas fundraiser to be held at the JCPL on June 19 from 1 to 3 p.m. The event will feature appetizers and drinks prepared by The Pines restaurant. Humans may bring their furry friends and there will be a best dressed pet contest. Tickets to the event will cost $15 for each human attending and will include a free photo, one drink and appetizers.
You can register to participate in the Tails and Tales Summer Reading Program by calling the JCPL front desk at 812-346-2091.
Donations of money and pet supplies are also being collected at the front desk throughout the summer reading program.
