San Diego, CA, March 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Liberty Military Housing (LMH), the country’s premier provider of homes for military families, announced a partnership with United Through Reading (UTR) to ensure equitable access to books for all. LMH has committed to increasing book access for residents across our communities through the launch of Liberty’s Little Libraries. Liberty’s Little Library is a small, front-yard book exchange amenity debuting at Liberty Military Housing communities across the country.
Through its partnership with UTR, LMH will expand military families' access to books. UTR has been paving the way for equitable access to books for more than thirty years. Together with our partner, LMH hopes to offer unprecedented opportunities for military families eager to develop their reading habits. Since 1989, more than two million military mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, older siblings, and children have sustained bonds and fostered literacy by sharing stories across even the greatest distances.
“At Liberty Military Housing, we believe that one of our roles, in addition to providing housing to families who choose to live with us, is connecting them with key resources to allow them and the larger military community to flourish. One such resource is access to books. Placing books in the hands of our military families can cultivate literacy and create a foundation for lifelong learning,” said Philip Rizzo, CEO of LMH.
United Through Reading connects military families who are separated —for deployment or military assignment—by providing the bonding experience of shared storytime.
“We’re thrilled at the opportunity to partner with United Through Reading. UTR has worked to bridge the gap between service and family, that separation is one of the primary sources of stress for spouses and children. We’re excited about this partnership and look forward to helping support their mission of keeping families connected during deployments,” said Rizzo.
UTR CEO Dr. Sally Ann Zoll knows firsthand the challenges that military families face. Her husband is a retired Army officer and her son currently serves in the Army Reserves.
“United Through Reading has long connected with military families in their communities, including at Liberty Military Housing events. We are so excited to provide over 800 books to Liberty’s Little Libraries to help military families stay connected and grow their love of reading every day,” said Zoll.
Research shows that just six minutes a day of reading can significantly improve kids’ reading performance and children who read at least 20 minutes a day are exposed to almost 2 million words per year.
“Liberty's Little Libraries will provide more convenient access to new books, allowing our military families more time for positive experiences with their children. One of the biggest challenges for families frequently on the move to new installations is saying goodbye to friends and having to make new ones. These libraries are at all of the installations we support and can serve as community meeting points to help our residents and their children connect with one another," said Rizzo.
About Liberty Military Housing
Liberty Military Housing (LMH), formerly known as Lincoln Military Housing, is the leading privatized housing provider and the largest employee-owned company in the multifamily industry. LMH provides more than 36,000 homes in over 200 communities across ten states and the District of Columbia. We are proud of the award-winning communities we build and manage and continue looking ahead to new ways of serving military families, our team, and our partners. Our mission is to contribute to military readiness and morale by ensuring military families live in homes and communities built and maintained to the highest standards. LMH was formed in 2001 through a Department of Defense (DoD) partnership.
For more information about Liberty Military Housing, please visit www.livelmh.com.
About United Through Reading
United Through Reading (UTR) connects military families while deployed or on military assignment—by providing the bonding experience of shared video recorded storytime. Founded in 1989 by a military spouse and reading specialist looking to help families maintain their connections during deployments through the power of reading, the program has proven successful during all types of military related separations ever since. More than 2.7 million military mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, older siblings, and children have sustained bonds and fostered literacy by sharing stories across even the greatest distances. UTR is recognized as a Guidestar Platinum Seal of Transparency Participant and is rated a 4-star Charity Navigator Rating. For more information, visit www.unitedthroughreading.org.
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