Literacy Coalition to Lead Read for the Record in Palm Beach County
Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon to Be Read by to Thousands of Children on Oct. 28
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County
Kristin Calder, CEO
561-635-8243
Kcalder@LiteracyPBC.org
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla., Oct. 1, 2021 — The Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County is coordinating Read for the Record locally for the 16th year on October 28. This year’s Read for the Record book is Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon by Kat Zhang. The book is about a little girl challenged with creating a dragon unlike any other to share with her class. The chosen book was announced at the Coalition’s recent Mayors’ Literacy Initiative luncheon in Palm Beach.
The Coalition’s local reading initiative is part of Jumpstart’s national Read for the Record campaign. The campaign brings together millions of adults and children around the world each year to read the same book on the same day. The goal is to increase awareness about the critical importance of early literacy.
Thanks to support from PNC Bank, the Literacy Coalition is distributing copies of the brightly illustrated book to hundreds of childcare centers throughout Palm Beach County. We’re also working with municipal leaders, businesses and individual volunteers to read the book to children at dozens of local sites. For last year’s Read for the Record, we distributed hundreds of books to more than 600 local childcare centers and coordinated volunteers to read virtually to more than 21,000 children at 75 sites.
“Reading aloud to children through events like Read for the Record has many benefits,” says Kristin Calder, Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County CEO. “It’s heartwarming for the volunteers to see how engaged the children are in their reading, and it helps bring a story to life allowing the children to comprehend more. It also helps the children develop a stronger vocabulary and increase their attention span.”
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 works to improve the quality of life in our community by promoting and achieving literacy. In Palm Beach County, 22% of adults age 16 older lack basic literacy skills and can’t fill out a job application or read a bus schedule 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 46,867 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.
