PHILADELPHIA - October 5, 2021 - (Newswire.com)
Mark your calendars, Sunday, October 10, through Sunday, October 17, is Reading Promise Week, Philly's second annual family literacy festival. The citywide celebration, organized by Read by 4th, features 45 free events packed with read-alouds, hands-on activities, and family giveaways.
Reading Promise Week is a festival on a mission. In the face of COVID learning loss and a national literacy crisis, hundreds of community leaders and volunteers have raised their hands to host events designed to boost home literacy habits and connect families to resources that grow young readers.
"We invited the community to dream of what a perfect literacy festival would look like in their neighborhood, then worked to give them the tools to make it happen," said Jenny Bogoni, executive director of Read by 4th at the Free Library of Philadelphia, a citywide coalition of families, community, and systems leaders protecting every child's right to read.
Throughout Reading Promise Week, 10,000 new children's books and 150,000 literacy-boosting giveaways will be distributed citywide thanks to the generous support and funding from PNC Grow Up Great, the Tobias Harris Charitable Foundation, Vanguard, Wells Fargo, and the William Penn Foundation.
This year's festival includes readings by award-winning authors like Kelly Starling Lyons, a literacy volunteer fair, Science of Reading workshops, and a family concert of a new literacy-themed album by local children's band, City Love.
"Everyone has a role to play in growing stronger readers," said Jenny Bogoni. "We still have work to do. But I hope families leave Reading Promise Week feeling the powerful community supporting young readers across Philly."
MORE RESOURCES
- Reading Promise Week event calendar and map: readingpromise.org/festival
- Reading Promise Week 2020 Photo Gallery (press-ready)
- Read by 4th, Reading Promise Week lead organizer
○ Website: readby4th.org
○ Facebook: @readby4th
○ Instagram: @readby4th
○ Twitter: @readby4th
Press Release Service by Newswire.com
Original Source: Philly's Family Literacy Festival Brings 10,000 Free Children's Books to the Block.