To promote early childhood education and the importance of reading, volunteers with United Way of the Coastal Bend visited more than 60 pre-school and elementary classrooms to celebrate Dr. Seuss Day.
Held annually on or around Dr. Seuss's birthday, the national reading event honors the memory of Dr. Seuss and celebrates reading in thousands of schools, libraries, and communities across the United States.
In Corpus Christi, volunteers donned Cat in the Hat hats and other costumes and read classic Dr. Seuss stories to nearly 1,200 children at various elementary schools and child development centers.
"I think when kids see other grownups besides their teachers and parents doing something for them, it makes them realize there's a bigger community of people that love them and want them to do good," said volunteer C. Michelle Unda, Manager of Human Resources and Public Affairs for NuStar Energy.
Schools and development centers that participated in this year’s event were:
- David Crockett Elementary School
- Elgin Neighborhood Centers of Corpus Christi
- Flour Bluff Early Childhood Center
- George Evans Elementary School
- Gollihar Neighborhood Center
- John F. Kennedy Elementary School
- Lichtenstein Center for Early Learning at Del Mar College
- Marguerite Neighborhood Center
- Mary McLeod Bethune Early Child Development Nursery, Inc.
- Molina Neighborhood Center
- Moses Menger Elementary School
- Oak Park Elementary School
- Rose Shaw Elementary School
- Sam Houston Elementary School
- Weldon Gibson Elementary School
- Wesley Community Center
- Zavala Elementary School
"Data suggests that 45% of children in Nueces County are not developmentally prepared to enter Kindergarten," said Sherry Peterson, Success By 6 Director at United Way of the Coastal Bend. "By taking part in this event, we hope to instill a love of reading in children and remind everyone how important it is to read to them every day."
United Way of the Coastal Bend thanks its volunteers for making this year's event a success. This includes employees from 1st Community Bank, AEP Texas, Chemours, City of Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi Fire Department, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Frost Bank, HOLT CAT, IBC Bank, Kleberg Bank, NavyArmy Federal Credit Union, NuStar, Port of Corpus Christi, Texas Bridge Community Credit Union, Valero, and Wells Fargo.