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Eighth Annual Family Literacy Day to Be Held April 12 in Rose Park

Belmont University’s Eighth Annual Family Literacy Day will take place, rain or shine, on Sat., April 12 from 1-4 p.m. at Rose Park in the Edgehill community. The event, called “Read With Me,” is aimed at children from pre-K through grade 6 and their families and is designed to celebrate the joys of reading with a free afternoon of interactive story times, crafts and games. The primary focus of the event is Reading Circles, hosted by various campus groups such as the Student Government Association, the Pan-Hellenic and Intra-Fraternity Councils, and Reformed University Fellowship. Each group picks a different theme and offers a variety of books for all ages.
Tim Stewart, Coordinator of Community Service and advisor to the Belmont Volunteers for Literacy group, said, “Every year, more and more Belmont groups and students get involved. This year we’ve also experienced a significant increase in involvement by Belmont alumni, including help obtaining sponsorships and donations, as well as participation in the actual event. We are also pleased to partner with Metro Parks and Edgehill residents in sharing this event with the Nashville community. We hope it will further strengthen the common bond that we share in wanting to make Nashville a better place for our children and for all of us.”
When children visit a circle and listen to or read a book, they receive a sticker. After collecting two stickers, children can visit the games or crafts area where they can play a reading-related game or make a reading-related craft such as a book mark or book or visit the refreshment area for a treat.


After collecting six stickers by visiting six different Reading Circles, children can pick out a book of their choice from hundreds of new children’s books donated by Book’em. In addition, there will be drawings for a variety of door prizes, as well as balloons, face-painting and plenty of fun to go around. The event has been made possible through the support of Belmont University, Dollar General, Metro Parks, BetterWorld Books, Book’em, MyGym, the Pencil Foundation and Northwestern Mutual Financial Network.
Belmont’s Family Literacy Day is but one of many components of the Belmont Volunteers for Literacy program, which includes ongoing tutoring programs at Carter-Lawrence School, Sevier Park Community Center, and English tutoring with children and adults through the YMCA Hispanic Achievers program. Family Literacy Day is designed to serve as a celebration of the year’s activities, giving the children and student participants of the ongoing programs a chance to have fun and reflect on their accomplishments. It also serves as a way of encouraging additional Belmont students, faculty and staff to get involved in the literacy effort in our community, and it provides a way for Belmont to give back in a small way to the community of which it is a part and from which it receives so much.
For additional information about Belmont’s Family Literacy Day, visit www.belmont.edu/sl/family_literacy_day/ or contact Tim Stewart, Coordinator of Community Service at Belmont University at 615-460-5431 or stewartt@mail.belmont.edu.

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