BOYNTON BEACH, Fla., Dec. 18, 2019 – Searching for Sylvie Lee. Mambo in Chinatown. Girl in Translation. All three bestsellers are inspired by life-changing events in author Jean Kwok’s life. Kwok will be sharing her amazing life story at the 29th annual Love of Literacy Luncheon, presented by Bank of America, on Thursday, March 12, 2020 at the Kravis Center’s Cohen Pavilion in West Palm Beach. The luncheon beings at 11:30 a.m.
Kwok immigrated from Hong Kong to Brooklyn with her family when she was five. The youngest of seven children, she worked in a Chinatown clothing factory for much of her childhood while living in an unheated, roach-infested apartment. In between her undergraduate degree at Harvard and MFA in fiction at Columbia, Kwok worked for three years as a professional ballroom dancer. She is trilingual, fluent in Dutch, Chinese and English, and studied Latin for seven years. She lives in the Netherlands.
Kwok’s newest book, Searching for Sylvie Lee, is a TODAY Show #ReadWithJenna book club pick and has been named a “Best Book…” by The NY Post, O, The Oprah Magazine and People. It is also a featured recommended book of 2019 By The New York Times, Time, Newsweek, CNN, The New York Post, The Washington Post, Amazon, O Magazine, People, Entertainment Weekly, Forbes, Instyle, Good Housekeeping, Harper’s Bazaar, Town & Country and more.
Individual luncheon tickets are $150. Patron tickets are $300 and include a photo with Kwok at a private reception. A table of 10 is $1,500. Other sponsorship opportunities are detailed here.
The luncheon, co-chaired by Bernadette O’Grady and Debra Ghostine, funds programs provided by the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County. These programs provide literacy skills to children, adults and families to help them succeed in school and in life. The Coalition’s goal is to ensure every adult and child in Palm Beach County can read.
“We are thrilled to celebrate literacy with many business and community leaders in the county at this inspiring event,” said Kristin Calder, Literacy Coalition CEO. “There is a great literacy need with adults and children in our community, and support from all who attend goes a long way to helping the Literacy Coalition provide and support life-changing literacy programs.”
Luncheon sponsors to date include Presenting sponsor Bank of America; Gold sponsors AT&T, GL Homes, Greenberg-Traurig, Karen Rogers and Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley; and Silver sponsors Dr. Regine Bataille (Gentle Medicine Associates), FP&L, Iberia Bank and Bettina and Greg Young.
For more information, visit www.LiteracyPBC.org, or call 561-279-9103.
About the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County
A recipient of the coveted 4-star Charity Navigator rating for 11 consecutive years, the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County has worked to improve the quality of life in our community by promoting and achieving literacy. One in seven adults in our county is unable to read and understand information found in books, newspapers and manuals and nearly half of all third graders are not reading on grade level. Through extensive outreach and collaboration with a network of community partners, the Literacy Coalition strives to ensure that individuals who need to improve their literacy skills receive the help they need. By providing services to more than 27,000 adults, children and families each year, the Literacy Coalition’s goal is for every child and every adult in Palm Beach County to be able to read.
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For more information, contact:
Kristin Calder, CEO
Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County
(561) 279-9103
E-mail: kcalder@literacypbc.org
