I am a believer that reading opens the minds of young people and will help our youth be more informed and ready to tackle issues now and later in life. We want kids to have fun while they learn and to be open to different authors and types of books: fiction, poems, and biographies. When you read more you know more!

A wonderful way to encourage reading in our community is through Little Libraries. We have a Little Library in our front yard in the Chickasaw neighborhood and our grandchildren love it! Each visit they get a book or two to read and take home. Other children in our neighborhood also stop by and pick up books. We love the idea of being able to assist Metro United Way with their libraries by making books available within walking distance for our neighborhood children.

We have our grandchildren read books, the newspaper and talk about what they read. We want them to understand what is going on in our community and the world. Books allow them to see the world without leaving home while also giving insight on different opinions, both good and bad. It helps them to see that all people may not agree on all topics, and it helps to have insight on topics not just locally but in other parts of the world. We want children to be able to have a conversation to discuss matters that may be controversial and to be able to agree to disagree when needed.

I pray our community will embrace Little Libraries and that parents will read with and encourage children to read more. If more of us were involved as volunteers bringing our children with us, I believe we would see positive change and leave a legacy for our children and their children to follow. There are lots of kids who need caring adults to read, tutor or mentor them. You can see those many opportunities HERE.

Anytime you have new or used books to share with Metro United Way's network of nearly 40 Little Libraries, you can drop them off at their office on the corner of Broadway and Preston during normal business hours. The greatest need is for books for children and teenage boys, but books for the whole family are happily accepted!

We can't start too early encouraging our children to read or to read to them. The public library has a wonderful program called Kindergarten Countdown - what a great way to have our babies ready for school! http://www.lfpl.org/kindergarten.html

Greg Allen was born and raised in Louisville in the west end and graduated from DuPont Manual High School. He worked for the U.S. Postal Service for over 30 years and is currently retired. His wife Audrey was also raised in the west end and graduated from Iroquois High School and is retired from the cable industry. They have 10 children and 16 grandchildren.