CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – To promote early childhood literacy, volunteers with United Way of the Coastal Bend visited local preschools and elementary schools to read to children on Read Across America Day.
Read Across America was launched in 1998 by the National Education Association (NEA) and is the nation’s largest celebration of reading. The program inspires youth to read through events, partnerships, and reading resources.
WHY THIS MATTERS: This event aimed to promote early literacy and a love for reading.
"Kids who read, and who are read to, just do better in school," said Sherry Peterson, Success By 6 Director at United Way of the Coastal Bend. "Bringing in volunteer readers into the classroom for a fun event like Read Across America can have a long lasting positive impact for academic success."
Local volunteers wore a variety of colorful, fun hats and read stories to more than 1,300 children at elementary schools and child development centers.
The 17 schools and development centers that participated in this year’s event were:
- Del Mar College Center for Early Learning
- Elgin Neighborhood Centers of Corpus Christi
- Flour Bluff Early Childhood Center
- Gollihar Neighborhood Center
- John F. Kennedy Elementary School
- Marguerite Neighborhood Center
- Mary McLeod Bethune Early Child Development Nursery
- Molina Neighborhood Center
- Moses Menger Elementary School
- Oak Park Elementary School
- Rose Shaw Elementary School
- Sam Houston Elementary School
- T.G. Allen Elementary School
- Travis Elementary School
- Weldon Gibson Elementary School
- Wesley Community Center
- Zavala Elementary School
United Way of the Coastal Bend would like to thank its volunteers from the following organizations for making this year’s event a success: AEP Texas, Bay Ltd., Chemours, CITGO, City of Corpus Christi, Del Mar College, Kleberg Bank, Rally Credit Union, Nurse-Family Partnership, NuStar Energy, Valero, Women United of the Coastal Bend, and Zachry Group.