Read With Me, Belmont University’s fifth annual Family Literacy Day, is scheduled for Saturday, April 16 from 1–4:00 pm, on the Belmont campus, rain or shine. The event is aimed at children from pre-kindergarten through grade 6 and their families and is designed to celebrate the joys of reading. The primary focus of the event are the Reading Circles, hosted by various groups on campus such as the Black Student Alliance, the foreign language majors, the Student Athlete Council and numerous fraternities and sororities.
Each group picks a different theme and has variety of books for all ages. 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 area or crafts area where they can play a reading related game or make a reading related craft such as a book mark or even their own book. They can also visit the refreshment area for a treat.
When a child has collected six stickers by visiting six different Reading Circles, they can pick out a book of their choice from hundreds of new children’s books donated by Book’em. In addition, throughout the afternoon, 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 is made possible through the financial support of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and significant participation by NashvilleREAD, Book’em, Pencil Foundation and Sodexho.
Belmont’s Family Literacy Day is one of many components of the Belmont Volunteers for Literacy program, along with 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 the community. 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.
Belmont University’s fifth annual Family Literacy Day
Saturday, April 16th
1-4 p.m.
Maddox Grand Atrium
For additional information about Belmont’s Family Literacy Day, contact Tim Stewart, Coordinator of Community Service, Belmont University, 1900 Belmont Blvd., Nashville, TN, 37212, 615-460-5431, stewartt@mail.belmont.edu.
