North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena reads to children at the ‘Yes We Can’ Community Center in the new dedicated National Grid reading corner 

Reading is invaluable for children especially when it sparks imagination and enables a child to see the world in a different way. Studies have shown that during the pandemic children in lower grades are missing reading benchmarks. One study found that early reading skills are at a 20-year low creating a kindergarten crisis. Promoting the importance of reading couldn’t be more important and National Grid is supporting the community by encouraging reading and literacy.

National Grid employees volunteered at the “Yes We Can” Community Center in Westbury donating and building seven bookcases and over 100 STEM and social justice related books. Volunteers created a new children’s reading space adding rugs, chairs, a toy storage unit, and several fun Lego sets. The new reading corner was unveiled to kids who participate in the afterschool program at the Community Center.

Today, National Grid is hosting a statewide Project C “Build Day,” with events focused on improving the environment for young people. Activities are taking place across New York including:  building beds in upstate New York in partnership with the non-profit Sleep in Heavenly Peace and working with organizations dedicated to helping children and families in downstate New York by beautifying community centers and providing mentoring workshops.

“We are proud to support communities across New York State by hosting our Project C “Build Day.” By supporting the ‘Yes We Can’ Community Center we are building up our community and showing our commitment to children and literacy,” said Kathy Wisnewski, Director of Customer and Community Engagement for National Grid. “By creating a dedicated reading space, we are encouraging reading which, develops language, improves focus, memory and the best gift of all, imagination.”

Project C is National Grid’s reaffirmation of the company’s commitment to the communities it serves, with the goal of creating transformative, lasting change. National Grid is looking beyond conventional energy delivery services to create a more equitable future for every customer and neighborhood. Learn more about National Grid’s Project C at nationalgridus.com. 

“The new dedicated reading space at ‘Yes We Can’ Community Center will help cultivate and nurture a passion for reading and learning in our kids who participate in our afterschool programs,” said Jennifer DeSena, Supervisor of Town of North Hempstead. “Thank you to National Grid for supporting the Town’s ‘Yes We Can’ Community Center and the children and families who frequent it.”

National Grid is proud to partner with the Town of North Hempstead on this community effort.

“For nearly a decade the ‘Yes We Can’ Community Center has been a vital part of the revitalization of the New Cassel area,” said New York State Assemblymember Charles Lavine. “Thank you to National Grid for this donation which will help the children of the Town of North Hempstead who rely on it as a place where they can feel safe, have fun, and grow educationally.”  

“As a council member and school board president, I know it is extremely important to promote literacy,” said Town of North Hempstead Council Member Robert Troiano Jr. “On behalf of the Town, I want to sincerely thank National Grid for their generous donation of time, energy, and resources in providing us with these bookcases. This gift will allow students in our community to continue reading even when they are not in school.”

“The Yes We Can Center has provided superior services to the Westbury and New Cassel communities over the last decade," said U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice. "This effort to build new bookshelves and create a fun new reading space for children will only help enhance the vital services that the Center provides. I want to thank National Grid for their commitment to our communities and residents. I can’t wait to see the new additions!”

“By giving readers of all ages new opportunities to embark upon literary journeys every time they visit the ‘Yes We Can’ Center, National Grid is helping to cultivate a passion for reading in our youth that will continue to blossom throughout their lives," said Nassau County Legislator Siela A. Bynoe. "We are all gratified that the families of Westbury and New Cassel will be the beneficiaries of National Grid’s generous contribution."

The Town of North Hempstead’s “Yes We Can” Community Center opened in 2012 and was named after President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign slogan. It is one of the most environmentally-advanced Centers in the region and has been awarded the platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) as a certified structure and features roof-top solar panels, grade-level solar trees, electric vehicle recharging stations and geothermal heating and cooling.

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