ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½student-athletes donate time to read to area kids
ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ athletics took part in the SAAC Reads program, a Midwest Conference initiative that ran from April 9-13 in school throughout Jacksonville.
In the SAAC Reads program, groups of two or three student-athletes go to local elementary schools to read to children for 30 minutes. The Blueboys and Lady Blues spent time at seven local schools – Bright Beginnings Day Care, Central Office, Eisenhower, First Presbyterian Day Care, Lincoln, Salem Lutheran and Washington – and read in 24 classrooms to a total of 467 children ranging from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade.
Thirty-eight student-athletes and two head coaches participated in the program from ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ and at the end of the initiative, 442 schoolchildren received books thanks to community partners Imagine Foundation and Beckham's Bookshelf. Members of the ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½baseball, softball, volleyball, basketball, golf, soccer, swimming & diving, and track & field teams all participated.