During the summer school children can lose up to 20-percent of what they learned during the last school year, but a group came to Clarksdale last week determined to stop that.
Save the Children brought its 100 Days of Reading campaign to the parking lot of the Coahoma County Expo Center Friday, with hundreds of children showing up to get books, be read to and enjoy a chance to write a story of their own.
Clarksdale was one stop on the 20-town bus tour supported by T.J. Maxx and SC Johnson with local agencies also on hand to give out everything from diapers and school supplies to food and cool bottles of water.
“We were so glad to have Save the Children help us get through the summer,” said Don Green, Director of the Mississippi Delta Council for Farm Workers Opportunities. “These people not only know what they are doing, they know how to have fun doing it.”
The Delta Council handed out boxes of fruit, bread and nutritious snacks to kids and parents.
“We were glad to be a part of this,” Green added. “A lot of families and especially kids got a pick-me-up this week.”
The goal was to get kids interested in reading, keeping those skills sharp and giving kids fun activities and essential resources children needed help them prepare for the upcoming school year.
Save the Children stuffed the four brightly painted buses with backpacks filled with school supplies, educational materials and personal care and hygiene products, which were handed to families from the Clarksdale area, along with the food boxes distributed by the Mississippi Delta Council.
The mobile 100 Days of Reading tour also hosted educational games and activities on-site to promote family fun and learning.
In addition to stops in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte and Boston 100 Days of Reading reached out to rural communities – like Clarksdale – that often don’t have the resources to keep kids reading over the summer.
Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. They work across the United States and around the world, to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm.
To learn more about the campaign, its activities and the bus tour, visit SavetheChildren.org/read.
