Organizations Partner to Serve Mecklenburg and Union County’s Book Desert
CHARLOTTE, NC, March 5, 2019 – Children in Mecklenburg and Union County’s book desert will receive the gift of more than 1600 books during Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center’s annual March Madness for Reading event. This program is made possible thanks to Smart Start of Mecklenburg, Promising Pages, and the Junior League of Charlotte.
Each year, Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center hosts March Madness for Reading, an initiative to encourage reading and improve literacy for Mecklenburg and Union County kids through the gift of books, in-class guest readers, and reading celebrations.
“March Madness for Reading is a pivotal part of our initiative to improve student’s 3rd grade reading proficiency by boosting early literacy and language skills for young children in our community.” said Shannon Tucker, Executive Director of Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center. “These components play key roles in improving future economic mobility for the children we are serving.”
Smart Start of Mecklenburg and Promising Pages, who work to improve literacy locally, have donated the books for March Madness. Additionally, volunteers from the Junior League of Charlotte will be gift-wrapping these book donations, visiting classrooms, and serving as guest readers for the more than 300 children benefiting from March Madness for Reading this year.
Throughout the month, CSHC’s Speech-Language Pathologists will visit Lakewood Preschool, Childtime in Monroe, the Howard-Levine Child Development Center at Renaissance West, The Learning Collaborative, and Charlotte Bilingual Preschool to drop off book donations and read to the classrooms.
To stay up to date on March Madness for Reading 2019, follow CSHC on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or visit our News and Events page.