Rotary club, Links introduce Reading Rockets video series

Taylor Cooper, The Brunswick News, Ga.
·2 min read

May 6—The COVID-19 pandemic put an immediate hold on the Reading Rockets program but, while not ideal, created an immediate need for creativity in accomplishing the program's mission.

That mission? Getting kids interested in reading by giving them a firsthand look at some of the literature available.

Prior to the pandemic, that involved sitting in front of a group of kids and reading to them from a children's book.

After the pandemic began, however, gathering together in a room and sitting close to one another was a no-go. The mission had to continue, however, and the program, sponsored in part by the Rotary Club of St. Simons Island, went virtual.

Linda Muir, co-chair of the club's literacy committee, said the "Zooming Reading Rockets," as it came to be dubbed, named for the video conferencing program Zoom, was a great success.

But with some COVID-19 measures still in effect at the start of the school year, the Reading Rockets program wasn't able to kick off in person this year, Muir said, instead continuing to use Zoom to reach kids.

That allowed the flexibility to produce videos for educators and parents to use.

Lance Lipmann, a retired filmmaker living on St. Simons Island, produced a total of 37 videos for the program featuring volunteers from the Brunswick Chapter of The Links Inc., which partnered with the Rotary Club on the project, among others.

"A lot of them volunteered on account of (The Brunswick News') Lauren (McDonald's) wonderful newspaper article," Muir said.

Courtenay Miller, a Links member, helped select the books.

"It made my heart glad to witness this," she said.

Lipman made waves locally in 2019 when he and another retired filmmaker, George Crain, produced "St. Simons Island: Surviving Success." The 15-minute documentary described the plight of the island as it grapples with a lack of long-term development planning and continued population growth.

"I was impressed with the readers, but I was equally impressed with the books. They are just terrific," Lipman said.

For more information on the videos, contact the Marshes of Glynn Libraries or Muir at ltmuirssi@gmail.com.