Senator Witkos Joins Literacy Initiative in Torrington

Torrington – Senator Kevin Witkos (R-8) participated in Torrington’s community literacy project One Town, One Book on Tuesday morning. Live on WAPJ-FM, Senator Witkos read a chapter from the book Marley: A Dog Like No Other to promote community literacy.

“By getting our children excited about reading we can create lifelong readers and learners,” said Senator Witkos. “Literacy is the key to success. It is the first step that opens doors to important education and career opportunities. I applaud Torrington’s community effort to promote reading and am honored to be part of the group effort celebrating literacy.”

The One Town, One Book project is a town-wide initiative which seeks to promote literacy in Torrington by encouraging all residents to read or listen to a shared book. The book Marley: A Dog Like No Other was selected for the month long read-together campaign.

The campaign is run by the One Town One Book Initiative Committee, which includes Torrington Public School educators and administrators, the Torrington Early Childhood Collaborative, the Torrington Municipal Teacher’s Credit Union, Northwest Connecticut’s Chamber of Commerce, and the support of multiple community organizations.

Along with Senator Witkos, many state lawmakers and local leaders have also read chapters from the same Marley book at various community events to promote the campaign.

In addition to public readings, the campaign includes many fundraising projects. These projects, along with generous community donations, will fund purchasing the book for families and community members throughout Torrington. Funds raised will also help bring John Grogan, the author of the book, to Torrington for a special community reading at the Warner Theatre on May 8.

The Marley book chosen for this campaign tells the story of the Grogan family. When the family is ready for a dog they choose Marley, a cute puppy who quickly grows into a large, rowdy Labrador retriever. Some may say he is the world’s worst dog, but the family knows and loves him through it all.

For more information on the community campaign, please visit http://1town1book.weebly.com/.