Students at the Starrett Early Learning Center (SELC) have always learned that they can do anything they set their minds to, and with the encouragement of one author this belief was further reinforced.
During the pandemic, Robin E. Devonish began to think about her childhood, and how there were some people where she grew up who did not believe in her abilities. In spite of it all, she became an author and entrepreneur, and later decided to write a book that would empower youth with the positive affirmation, “I can do it!”
“I wrote it during the pandemic, just one day in my house I was thinking about being a child and told that I couldn’t do certain things because of where I grew up. Because of the environment that I lived in people always count you out,” Devonish told the Spring Creek Sun.
Over the summer, Devonish furthered her book by creating a campaign with the same title as her book, “I can do it” with a goal to increase literacy and early learning through book donations. She aimed to donate 500 books to various schools throughout the community.
“This book is written in this simplest form; it rhymes. So, if the child reads it every day, eventually they will memorize it. It will encourage them before they go to school, before they leave the house in the morning just to let them know they can do anything they set their mind to,” Devonish added.
On November 28th, students at the SELC were able to meet Devonish and together they read the story of Elisa who shared her dreams and aspirations—each achievable if she sets her mind to it. The children sat enraptured by the tale and by the end of it, each child received a personalized autographed book.
Photos by Amanda Moses
