WPIX weatherman Mr. G & volunteer actors kick-off national ‘Read to Me’ literacy initiative and issue reading challenge on World Read Aloud Day
New literacy campaign sponsored by SAG Foundation BookPALS and Rise Up Foundation encourages everybody to play a role in reading aloud to children
NEW YORK—On World Read Aloud Day, WPIX weatherman Mr. G will join SAG-AFTRA performers who volunteer on a regular basis as SAG Foundation BookPALS (Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools) to kick-off a new national literacy campaign entitled ‘Read to Me’ sponsored by Screen Actors Guild Foundation BookPALS and Rise Up Foundation.
‘Read to Me’ encourages everyone to play a part in reading aloud to children whether you are a parent or grandparent, sibling or neighbor, educator or friend. Research shows that reading aloud to children improves language, literacy and academic outcomes. The ‘Read to Me’ challenge asks everyone to pick up a children’s book and read it aloud to a child in your life today.
In addition to reading to the K-5 students at Manhattan’s PS 140 dressed as characters from their favorite children’s book, Mr. G and fellow BookPALS volunteers will also present over 300 new books to PS 140 students donated by the Brooke Jackman Foundation.
WHAT: WPIX weatherman Mr. G and SAG-AFTRA performers kick-off national literacy campaign: ‘Read to Me’ sponsored by SAG Foundation BookPALS and Rise Up Foundation
WHEN: World Read Aloud Day, Wednesday, March 4 at 9:15 a.m. EST
WHERE: PS 140, 123 Ridge St. MANHATTAN, New York, NY 10002
WHO: WPIX weatherman Mr. G and volunteer SAG-AFTRA performers
VISUALS: Mr. G and performers will dress as characters from their favorite children’s books and read aloud to K-5 students in their classrooms
On site contact: Maria Cabezas, SAG Foundation New York BookPALS Director, 347-239-3191, mcabezas@sagfoundation.org
On social media: #ReadtoMe @SAGFoundation @RiseUpFdn
About the Screen Actors Guild Foundation BookPALS
The Screen Actors Guild Foundation program BookPALS (Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools) is a volunteer children’s literacy program made up of more than 2,200 SAG-AFTRA performers who read aloud to 60,000 children in Title I public schools, libraries, hospitals and social service agencies every month. BookPALS operates in six branches nationwide. For more information or to volunteer for BookPALS, visitsagfoundation.org/bookpals.
This year, the Screen Actors Guild Foundation celebrates 30 years of providing vital assistance and educational programming to the professionals of SAG-AFTRA while serving the public at large through its signature children’s literacy programs. The SAG Foundation is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, independent from the union, and relies solely on support from grants, sponsorships, and individual contributions to maintain its programs and create new ones. For more information, visit sagfoundation.org.
About Rise Up Foundation
Founded by Wendy Alane Adams, the Rise Up Foundation strives to improve the lives of children and families living in poverty and difficult circumstances. Rise Up supports literacy projects as a path toward improving the future prospects of children in underserved communities by making book donations, providing classroom support, and grant-making. In addition to literacy efforts, Rise Up works with organizations committed to defining and solving the problems that chronic poverty brings to children and their communities. For more information, please visit riseupfoundation.org.
About World Read Aloud Day
Every year on the first Wednesday of March, World Read Aloud Day calls global attention to the importance of reading aloud and sharing stories. World Read Aloud Day motivates children, teens, and adults worldwide to celebrate the power of words and creates a community of readers taking action to show the world that the right to literacy belongs to all people. World Read Aloud Day is now celebrated by over one million people in more than 80 countries and reaches over 31 million people online. For more information, visit litworld.org/wrad.