The importance of reading to children is obvious to
every parent.
Research shows that young children whose parents read
aloud to them have better language and literacy skills when they go to
school.
In fact, it is recommended that parents read to their
children every day because reading stimulates the development of the brain,
language and a closer emotional relationship with a child.
This Christmas why not choose a gift for your child,
grandchild or Godchild which brings benefits on many levels.
Karen McSweeney, who is originally from Raheny and is
now living in Baldoyle, is the author and illustrator of the children’s book
‘The Happiest Farm’. She recently launched her new book entitled
‘The Grumpy
Cow’.
All proceeds raised from the sale of the book will go
to Zest4Kidz, a charity that operates educational, counselling and medical
projects to help children in Africa, India and Eastern Europe.
Funds raised from the sale of
‘The Grumpy Cow’ will be
used for a specific project in Uganda, in memory of Karen’s late sister-in-law,
Jean Carley, from Raheny.
Karen said
‘The Grumpy Cow’ is the story of
‘A not so
silent night’ – the original Christmas story told through the eyes of a cow who
was in the stable the night that Jesus was born.
“The book is both fun and educational and I’m sure
that children and their parents will get great pleasure from it,
? she stated.
“On a serious note, all of the proceeds from the sale
of this book will go to a great cause through Zest4Kidz, which is particularly
close to my heart.
?
Karen’s sister-in-law, Jean Carley, was actively
involved with Zest4Kidz and in August, she travelled for the second year
running with a team of 14 volunteers including her own family, to Uganda to
work with former child soldiers.
The team was involved in running trauma counselling
courses, as well as vocational programmes to try to teach life and work skills
to the youth.
Jean was so moved by the work that is being done with
these deserving, yet needy children, that she decided to take on the task of
raising the necessary funds to open a rehabilitation home for children and
parents who need a place to recover from surgery on war-damaged or
disease-affected limbs.
Sadly, Jean passed away suddenly on September 8. Her
family and friends are determined to carry out her strong wish by raising
e50,000 to open and run the rehabilitation centre.
Stuy Wilson, founder of Zest4Kidz, said it is a
grassroots charity that relies on the support of volunteers.
“Jean Carley was one of our most devoted volunteers
who not only raised money for our cause, but also travelled with our teams to
Uganda,
? he said.
“She made a real difference to the lives of the
children who have suffered in a way that is unimaginable to many Irish
people.
“We are delighted that Karen has decided to donate all
the proceeds from the sale of
‘The Grumpy Cow’ to the rehabilitation centre
that was part of Jean’s dream.
Mr Wilson added:
“We plan to build the centre in 2012
and we will name it:
‘The Jean Carley Rehabilitation Centre’.
If you are interested in ordering a copy of
‘The
Grumpy Cow’, which costs just
?¬14, please contact Robert Carley on 087-2258270
or email the publisher directly at info@choicepublishing.ie.
If you are interested in supporting the setting up of
the
‘The Jean Carley Rehabilitation Centre’ in Uganda, or the work that
Zest4Kidz does, please contact the charity directly on 01-2063872 or by
emailing info@zest4kidz.com