Today was a very special day for Team READ USA!

This morning, we hosted more than 300 of our donors, supporters, volunteers, and partners at EverBank Stadium for our Peace in the Pages in Honor of Roseann Duran luncheon. We are overjoyed with gratitude for our guests who could join us and for their support who make the work we do every day possible.

As our teen tutor Chyna Toban shared when she opened our program and welcomed our guests, “As a tutor, you realize the forever impact you have on the kids you tutor, when they themselves realize they can do this… The reason READ USA is still doing tutoring, is because it IS working.”

This is exactly why we do what we do, why our tutors return semester after semester (Chyna has been a tutor with us from the very beginning!), and why our team continues to grow in order to address the tremendous need that exists not only in Jacksonville, but in communities all across our country. Our donors and partners are vital to us delivering upon our mission.

But it’s most certainly not just about us. To close the literacy gap, the broader community’s engagement in childhood literacy is absolutely essential. This is why, every year, we celebrate seven exceptional leaders – all from different sectors of our community – who are champions of literacy, education, and our youth. Each one of our award honorees has given selflessly in their own ways to uplift the next generation through literacy. The honor was truly ours to be able to celebrate them today:

• READ to Lead Award: Patricia McElroy, President of the VyStar Foundation and Senior Vice President of VyStar Credit Union
• READ to Succeed Award: Caleb Johnson, Linebacker, Jacksonville Jaguars
• READ to be Free Award: Ronnie Gadio, READ USA Tutor
• READ to Heal Award: Dr. Andrea Barnwell Brownlee, George W. and Kathleen I. Gibbs Director and CEO, Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens
• READ to Remember Award: Dr. Sherry Magill, Retired President, Jessie Ball duPont Fund
• Marjorie Broward Memorial Scholarship Award: Kathleen Adkins, Principal, Rutledge H. Pearson Elementary
• Mark Landen Memorial Award for Democracy through Journalism: Tenikka Hughes, Anchor, Action News Jax

We look forward to sharing some event highlights in next week’s newsletter, but we also wanted to thank a few very special individuals who made our guests rise to their feet not once, not twice, but three times for standing ovations.

Our keynote speaker, the legendary Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole, truly made the mission of READ USA so relatable and palpable, not only for where we want to go, but also in understanding where our society has come from. We are so grateful for her involvement and support.

Our guest speakers gave our audience a personalized inside look at our work and did so with such passion and intention. Thank you to tutors Chyna and Tristan, teacher Ms. Donawa, parent Ms. Watts (and her daughter, Giovanni – we can’t WAIT to share more with you), and volunteer and donor Laura for sharing your voice with our guests today!

Finally, thank you to our fabulous co-emcees, Whitney Meyer of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Kemal Gasper of VyStar Credit Union. Your time today, your personal support of READ USA, and the support of the organizations you represent helps READ USA shine so brightly! We are so grateful.

We have many more individuals to recognize, and we look forward to sharing more next week!

Thank you to everyone who joined us this morning at the 2024 Peace in the Pages in Honor of Roseann Duran luncheon! We are so thankful for your support.

Literacy Locker Room at John Love Early Learning Center

Look, we get it: kids definitely get excited about books (our favorite thing!), but sometimes even books can’t beat the excitement that Jaxson de Ville brings out!

Last week, we hosted our first Literacy Locker Room of the season at John Love Early Learning Center. At Literacy Locker Room events, students choose free books to take home and keep, courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation and event sponsor Gallagher. They also got an extra special treat last week: a read aloud from Jacksonville Jaguars Legend Donovin Darius! And of course, Jaxson de Ville and members of the Jacksonville ROAR kept that energy UP!

We are so thankful to the Jaguars Foundation, Gallagher and its wonderful employees who volunteered, and to the staff at John Love Early Learning Center for so warmly welcoming us. Many thanks as well to Adriel Rocha, Vice President of Community Impact and Football Development, and Michael Carnahan, Jaguars Foundation Community Impact Manager, who help make these fantastic events possible.

We can’t wait for the next Literacy Locker Room coming up in a few weeks!

Children’s Book: One Green Apple by Eve Bunting

Illustrated by Ted Lewin

Distinguished children’s author Eve Bunting has yet again created a heartwarming and enlightening work of fiction. One Green Apple is a contemporary book that will encourage young readers to reflect on the challenges young immigrants and refugees face when adapting to a new country. Immigrant and refugee students will also be able to identify with the main character and draw inspiration from her story. One Green Apple teaches us all that despite our exterior differences, at our cores we are all the same.

One Green Apple’s central character is Farah, a young Arab girl. Through first-person narration, Farah is able to share her story with the reader.

Farah’s story starts on her second day of school, which happens to be a field trip to an apple orchard. On the trip she starts to notice many cultural differences between herself and her classmates, which makes her homesick. Farah separates from the class and finds a lonely, small tree. She shares with the reader that the tree symbolizes her because it too does not belong among the others. In this scene, Bunting transports the reader to the orchard next to Farah. Her words ignite the reader’s sense of sight and sound as Farah chooses a small, green apple and twists it off the tree’s branch.

The story continues as Farah reunites with her classmates in a barn. One by one, the students plop their apples into a machine. Farah observes quietly from a distance as her classmates struggle to push the machine’s heavy handle. Realizing she is strong; Farah musters the courage to join her fellow classmates to push the handle.

After drinking the class’s cider, Farah starts to feel accepted in her new environment. On the ride back she starts to interact with the other students. One of the boys in her class burps which causes laughter to erupt. At that moment, Farah understands that not all things in this country are different, because laughter sounds the same in her country.

Ted Lewin’s gorgeous sun-drenched paintings and Eve Bunting’s sensitive text immediately put the reader into another child’s shoes in this timely story of a young Muslim immigrant.

Submitted by Kathi Hart, Lead Content Specialist