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Community groups are invited to bring families together around reading by hosting a free Prime Time family engagement and literacy program in the spring.

Applications will be accepted until Oct. 15 frome organizations that would like to host either Prime Time Family Reading, for ages 6-10, or Prime Time Preschool Reading, for ages 3-5.

Eligible organizations include schools, libraries, museums, churches and other community-based agencies that possess a valid EIN#. Prime Time, a program of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, offers families a chance to come together to share a meal, read, and discuss the important themes often found in children’s books.

“The magic of a Prime Time program happens after the book,” said Miranda Restovic, president and executive director of the LEH and Prime Time, Inc. “We dive deep into discussions about topics such as bravery, community, and resilience that help open up lines of communication between family members, bring to light experiences that may never have been shared otherwise, and show that it’s OK to have different views.”

Prime Time’s 90-minute sessions take place once a week for six weeks. Prime Time is free for families and the organizations that host the program. Each partner site also receives a $1,000 site support stipend and a set of the children’s books used during the program, and participating families keep all the books for their personal home libraries as well.

“Prime Time is like no other program I have participated in,” said Deborah Alexander, principal of Eighty-First Street ECE. “We are able to add new energy to family reading nights. The high-quality materials and supplies that are provided and allowed through stipends give us the ability to offer something different to our families and community.”