Special to IFN
The Iredell County Partnership for Young Children (ICPYC) will host its fourth annual Read Across America Day drive-thru celebration on Friday, February 28. This free event will be held at the Statesville Civic Center from 10 a.m. to 12 noon (while supplies last). Please enter through the lower entrance, off S. Meeting Street.
Each year, National Read Across America Day is celebrated on March 2, the birthday of Dr. Seuss. The annual event is part of Read Across America, an initiative on reading created by the National Education Association.
This initiative began in 1998 and calls upon everyone to read and engage with children to make reading a more fun and interactive experience. It’s during the preschool years that children’s literary abilities first start to emerge. These early literacy skills are the foundation for the reading and academic abilities they’ll have later in life.
ICPYC supports literacy programs that encourage families to engage in daily reading habits early for later school success. The celebration will be an interactive drive-thru event, providing children and families with literacy resources and activities for fun learning at home.
“It’s a good opportunity to remove barriers and get kids excited about reading,” said Peyton Barrows, Literacy Program coordinator. “Our hope is to motivate children and caregivers to read and celebrate literacy by sharing information about our services and giving children their own literacy bag that will include a book, activities, and literacy-rich materials.”
As Dr.Seuss said, “The more that your read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
About ICPYC
ICPYC is a 501 (c)(3), nonprofit organization, dedicated to measurably increasing learning and healthy development of children birth to age five in Iredell County. ICPYC provides services focused on raising the quality of early care and education, supporting families, advancing child health, and expanding literacy. For more information, call (704) 878-9980 or visit http://www.iredellsmartstart.org/. ICPYC is located at 734 Salisbury Road in Statesville.