Community Outreach

Inner City-Inner Child is Dumbarton Concerts’ award-winning community outreach program.

Now here are two extraordinary statistics: 61 percent of low-income families have no books at home for their children, and 80 percent of their child care centers have none either. It’s no surprise that children who don’t grow up around books are likely to read poorly and read late. So Inner City-Inner Child focuses on creating a literacy-rich environment for the youngest children by working with the childcare centers in which they spend so much of their time.

Dancing with Books selects six new centers a year for its interactive, book-based, arts and literacy residency. Singing and drumming the alphabet song in a traditional Swahili rhythm or using dance to learn new words, is just the beginning. Books, bookshelves, and rugs create classroom libraries and cozy book corners. On-site literacy training guarantees that teachers know how to use the books, just as family literacy workshops teach parents how to create a culture of reading at home. A six-time recipient of the Mayor’s award for outstanding work in early childhood education, ICIC opens a whole new world to children.