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Wichita Police Officers, Firefighters Deliver Books For Literacy Program

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Watermark owner Sarah Bagby and Wichita Police Spokesman Charley Davidson announced the Building Bridges through Books program in July.

Wichita police officers and firefighters are visiting the communities they serve to deliver books as part of a literacy program.

The book drop is for the Building Bridges through Books program.

The Wichita Police Department and Watermark Books and Café are working together to help elevate literacy skills while creating a connection between first responders and families.

Wichita Police spokesman Charley Davidson is one of the officers who is distributing the free books.

"It was nice to be able to meet someone, get to know them on a first-name basis and just connect with them using these books," Davidson says.

The officers and firefighters are also reading the books.

Davidson says several community gatherings and book discussions will take place at various sites around Wichita on August 30.

Building Bridges through Books launched last month. The Wichita Fire Department is also participating in the program.

Books were selected for all age groups based on entertainment value and quality of writing. There will be two more book distributions during the next year.

The Wichita Community Foundation provided the funding for the Building Bridges through Books program.

Community Gatherings:

Aug. 30:

  • 6 p.m. Evergreen Recreation Center
  • 6 p.m. Linwood Recreation Center

Aug. 31:

  • 6 p.m. Ascension Lutheran Church
  • 6 p.m. Edgemoor Recreation Center

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Follow Deborah Shaar on Twitter @deborahshaar.

 
To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.

 

Deborah joined the news team at KMUW in September 2014 as a news reporter. She spent more than a dozen years working in news at both public and commercial radio and television stations in Ohio, West Virginia and Detroit, Michigan. Before relocating to Wichita in 2013, Deborah taught news and broadcasting classes at Tarrant County College in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area.