A team from Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers visited students at Southside STEM Academy at Campostella in Norfolk this month to take part in Read Across America Day. Chief Marketing Officer Cassidy Lewis read “If I Ran the Zoo” by Dr. Seuss to students on March 2. Other guests included U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, and athletes from Norfolk State University.
The initiative was part of the Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers Cares campaign. Our law firm supports many community activities and great causes in Hampton Roads and further afield. Over the holidays last December, we dropped off coats to the students at Southside STEM Academy at Campostella.
What is Read Across America Day?
Read Across America Day, also known as Dr, Seuss Day, is an annual event organized by the NEA (National Education Association). It is held on the school day that is nearest to March 2, Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Theodor Seuss Geisel was a famous American artist, animator, book publisher, poet, and political cartoonist as well as an author. He is best known for more than 60 children’s books that have enchanted children for generations.
NEA launched Read Across America in 1998. The initiative is meant to encourage children to read more books and to get them excited about reading.
The organization points out the event is intended to motivate children to read to improve their performance in school. Events are held across the country in schools, hospitals, bookstores, community centers, libraries, churches, and other venues.
National Education Association members and more than 50 organizations support the Read Across America Day. NEA provides a wide range of resource materials for people who want to celebrate the holiday in their unique way. The official Read Across America website has many helpful ideas.
The NEA lists the following strategy ideas on its website:
Use Guest Readers
Kids are familiar with their teachers reading to them. However, having guest readers can shake up the experience. Local celebrities add a new dimension to reading. Every year, local football athletes, politicians, police, and firefighters read to kids on Read Across America day.
Host a Book Tasting
A Book Tasting is a great way to introduce students to a wider choice of books, authors, and illustrators. Teachers and others can work with school librarians and cafeteria staff to transform a space with tables and chairs into a “cozy café for readers.” The NEA says participants can help students identify titles of interest with genre or themed tables or place settings. Students can rotate throughout the tastings. Some schools invite special guests to talk up a book or books as the “Specials for Read Across America Day.”
Read Across America Storypalooza
The NEA suggests communities can host Read Across America Storypalooza storytelling events. Participants can use certain themes and encourage students, families, and staff to retell traditional stories like Mangoes, Mischief, and Tales of Friendship or Riding a Donkey Backwards.
Host a Multicultural Festival
Some organizations work with parent and community groups to host international nights or multicultural festivals. These events celebrate reading and “opens windows on the world,” stated the NEA.
Participants may set up stations for families and students to learn more about cultural diversity in their community and the world. Multicultural festivals should use a variety of international book titles from the school library.
Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers Cares Campaign
Our firm recently set up Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers Cares, a campaign that highlights the work we do in the community and the sponsorships we give to many great causes across Virginia.
We are helping through funding, volunteering, and exposure for good causes. Our “Cares” initiative includes our Distracted Driving Scholarship, our annual donation to the Food Bank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, and most recently, our coat drop off to the very special students at Southside STEM Academy at Campostella.
Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers helps people who are hurt in car, truck, and motorcycle accidents, slip and fall victims, and the families of those who lost a loved one in wrongful death actions. For help with your legal matter, call today.
