BIDDEFORD – Maine Family Literacy Initiative programs in 17 Maine communities have received grant awards totaling $322,452 from the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.

Representatives from each program accepted their grant awards Monday from Bush and Maine’s first lady, Karen Baldacci, at an awards ceremony at the J. Richard Martin Community Center.

The Maine Family Literacy Initiative funds support programs that improve the reading skills of parents and their children, while developing literacy practices in the home.

“Literacy is so important to the well-being of our families and our society,” said Bush, honorary chairperson of the Barbara Bush Foundation. “I am so proud of the parents and children who have participated in our programs over the past 13 years. We know that they recognize the importance of making reading a part of their everyday lives.”

Eight winning grants of approximately $25,000 each were chosen this year from applications submitted by libraries, community-based organizations, colleges, adult education programs and public schools across the state to implement family literacy programs. These programs provide family literacy services that include adult literacy instruction, early childhood literacy instruction and parent-and-child time for reading together.

Four additional planning grants of $5,000 also were awarded to communities to develop the partnerships and resources needed to implement a family literacy program next year. According to Becky Dyer, director of the Maine Family Literacy Initiative, planning grants are an effective way to bring agencies together to begin talking about family literacy and identifying resources to help support family literacy programming.

“Reading holds the key to success in life,” said Baldacci. “Barbara Bush has devoted many years of work to promote and increase family literacy. I would like to thank and honor her on behalf of the people of the state of Maine for her dedication to such a worthy cause.”

The Maine Family Literacy Initiative has awarded 183 grants totaling $3,132,307 over the years. The Barbara Bush Foundation also funds family literacy initiatives in Texas, Florida and Maryland, as well as through its annual national grant competition. As of this month, the foundation, which was established in 1989, will have awarded over $30 million to almost 700 family literacy programs in 50 states including the District of Columbia.

Among those receiving grants were: Old Town School Department’s Reading in the Family program; Ashland Central School’s Washburn-Ashland Literacy Project; SAD 24 of Van Buren’s Home-Based Gen Read Program; Teen and Young Parent Program of Knox County’s The Growing Tree, which will support development of a new family literacy partnership in Waldo and Washington counties through The Community School Inc.’s Passages Program and provide professional development to Rockland Head Start and Mid-Coast Children’s Services; SAD 27 of Fort Kent’s CHIPPY program; and SAD 3 of Unity’s SPICE Reaches Out Program.