Kiwanis, Key Club bring Murry Murray to kindergartners

Fort Collins, Colorado, Coloradan
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20090509/WINDSORBEACON01/90508028

The Windsor Kiwanis Club and the Windsor High School Key Club are teaming up to promote reading in Windsor schools.

The two groups have been working closely with Fort Collins children’s author Barbara Murray to bring 325 Windsor School District kindergartners a copy of her third book, “Murry Murray, Sometimes We Have to Be Clean.”

“It’s always fun to see how excited the children are about these books,” Murray said.

Greg Backhaus, a member of the Windsor Kiwanis Club and a financial advisor with Edward Jones Investments, 1298 Main Street, Unit B, agreed.

“I’m looking forward to seeing a bunch of smiling, happy kids,” he said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
Murry Murray, Sometimes We Have to Be Clean is written in English and Spanish to help give children the opportunity to become bilingual and to help teach life lessons through the eyes of a beloved Golden Retriever.

“He (the dog) has to go to the groomer, but doesn’t want to,” Backhaus said.

“Although, once friends begin showing up, he has a positive experience and they do it together. It’s a good little book.” Murray agreed.

“It’s funny because sometimes they (the children) get caught up in everything and think Murry (Murray) is a person,” she said with a laugh.

“All of the situations in the books are real, I also try to bring in different situations kids would face with the help of animals.

“I have also noticed that kids pay more attention to what animals are saying than to what people say,” Murray added with a laugh.

With the Windsor Kiwanis Club dedicated to changing the world one kid at a time and the WHS Key Club providing the community with volunteers to help with different events, the book giveaway was an excellent opportunity for everyone involved.

As the two groups partner together with Murray, they will disperse 325 copies of her books to WSD kindergartners beginning Tuesday.

But, in order to do that, they are asking for the community’s help.

“We have money coming in right now,” Backhaus said. “So far, we have 25-30 businesses that have already helped. Ideally, we would like to get half of the 270 businesses in town to buy one book.”
The books cost $17 apiece and all proceeds go directly to the Windsor Kiwanis Club to help support future events.

“It went over great last year,” Backhaus said. “Being able to give back and put a new book in their hands is really important.”

Alex West, a junior at WHS and a member of the Key Club, agreed.

“We’ll get to go read to them next week,” he said. “It’ll be really fun. We’re also helping disperse the books, and hopefully it will all go well.”