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This project will help to fund the 2021 HEB Reads! Summer Reading Challenge Kickoff, which will be held at Pennington Field, Bedford, Texas, on May 1, 2021. The Kickoff is a completely free community festival with an attendance of over 4,000. Schools, libraries, community organizations, and local businesses come together to celebrate and promote reading. We have bounce houses, a petting zoo, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) learning activities, music, giveaways, and most importantly,every attendee leaves with free book of their choice to start off their summer reading Every one of the over 4,000 people who attend the Kickoff benefits from receiving a free book, promoting the importance of reading at the family level, receiving information on educational opportunities in the community, and enjoying a free day of entertainment with the family. Our schools and teachers benefit because summer reading combats "summer slide," and teachers don't have to spend as much time in the fall re-teaching skills lost over the summer. Long-term, the community experiences the intangible benefit of kids and families who see the value of reading and education, and who will eventually become a more educated workforce and more productive members of the community. The population of HEB ISD, which includes portions of the cities of Hurst, Euless, and Bedford, is 52.8 % free and reduced lunch. It is a very diverse population both in its racial and ethnic makeup and its socioeconomic levels. Over 70 different languages are spoken in the homes of HEB ISD students. Many families in our community are not aware of the importance of summer reading and the impact it has on their child's success in school. Many families are not able to purchase books for their children and cannot provide transportation to a public library. The Kickoff provides a free, fun, family-friendly activity at no cost. The Summer Reading Challenge encourages reading through prizes and incentives, including another free book when a certain number of minutes are read. To address transportation issues, a separate component of HEB Reads! consists of pop-up libraries at economically disadvantaged or outlying areas of the community. Project funds will be used for book giveaways ($500) and tote bags ($1,500). Each attendee receives a bag with information from the schools and public libraries. They also use this bag to collect information and giveaways from festival booths and they use it to carry their free book after they select it. This bag would be branded with the Rotary International logo and information on one side and HEB Reads! on the other. Rotary Members will fill a variety of roles at the Kickoff. For example, several Members will be stationed at the Kickoff entrance to welcome people to the Kickoff and to distribute tote bags to each attendee. This would be a very high-visibility volunteer opportunity. We have many other volunteer opportunities depending on members' preferences. In the event of the Covid 19 pandemic forcing the event to take place virtually, the bags of books will be sent home with the meals provided to the economically disadvantaged families at the food pick-up destinations. There will be games and contests held virtually throughout the summer months to encourage reading and learning. Prizes will be awarded weekly with a grand prize at the end to keep the students motivated. The virtual learning program was designed and implemented for the 2020 program and was very successful.
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