Local Beauty Queen is on a Mission to Eradicate Illiteracy

March 26, 2009 - PRLog -- The Beginning the Journey chapter of Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), directed by Peta-Gay Lewis, held its first 2009 distribution fair at Washington Yu Ying Public charter school on March 19, 2009.

Through monetary and book donations provided by citizens across the United States the Beginning the Journey chapter of RIF was able to present 128 students with a book of their choice. This event serviced students in pre-kindergarten through first grade.  To engage the attention of the students a celebrity reader was on hand.  The children were thrilled when they realized that Ms. Belleza Latina was visiting their school and would read from the pages of Disney's Let's Go book. The fun did not stop there however because the highlight of the event was the students visiting the individual tables to peruse the selection before deciding on the book they wanted to keep.  

Much fun was had by all involved but more importantly the activities presented fostered an interest in reading for its participants.  

We wondered why Mrs. Peta-Gay Lewis would dedicate so much time to fundraising and organizing these events so we asked her why and she said, "The participants of our fairs are usually extremely appreciative of our efforts and sometimes this is the only opportunity some of them get for book ownership.  Below is an excerpt from an email I received from Sarah Harris the school's principal:"

"That was such a wonderful event this morning, thank you!! I can't tell you how excited our students were to be taking home their new books this afternoon. One of our PreK students asked me this morning if they would have to bring their books back to school, and when I said that they could keep them, they cheered!"

Mrs. Lewis says "It is stories such as these that make my efforts worthwhile."  I thank the generous donors and my Board of Directors for assisting me in my efforts to foster a love of reading in our youth because what we are doing is having a direct impact on the lives of our young people.

If you would like to learn more about the Beginning the Journey chapter of Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) please visit their website at www.beginningthejourney.com or to make a donation send an email to info@beginningthejourney.com

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