The Sixth Annual Reading Bonanza in the Park will be held Saturday May 14th

SILICON VALLEY, Calif. - April 7, 2016 - PRLog -- Bring Me A Book, in partnership with the City of East Palo Alto and Facebook, present the Sixth Annual Reading Bonanza in the Park, East Palo Alto. The event will take place on Saturday, May 14^th, 2016 from 11:00am to 3:00pm at Bell Street Park, 550 Bell Street, East Palo Alto, CA. This is a free fun family literacy expo open to the public. Families are encouraged to join in the fun of reading with youth, from babies to teenagers. There will be reading activities, games, contests and entertainment throughout the day hosted by 100+ volunteers and 30+ community organizations. Lots of books will be given to all youth attending. There will be FREE FOOD, refreshments, snacks, and many giveaways. Prizes, including a Mac laptop**!, will be given away throughout the day to youth participants. Parents, guardians, or caretakers that visit the "Read Aloud Tent" will have an opportunity to win an iPad when their names are submitted in a drawing* at the event. In the Read Aloud Tent, adults of all language and reading levels will be given practical tips on reading aloud with their children at home.  *The winner of the drawing will be announced at the end of the event.

The Stanford Men's Basketball Team and other Stanford Athletes will be working with youth and giving away gear. The East Palo Alto San Mateo County library will host the Imagination Playground, in addition to the dozens of other organizations hosting literacy activities. College Track will be hosting their Fifth Annual "Spell It Out" Spelling Bee for middle and high school students where winners at both levels will be awarded a Mac laptop**! Organizations that have not yet signed up to participate, can do so here: http://goo.gl/forms/IlR2JYXOok This event is free and open to the public; however pre-registration for your family or a group is suggested at: http://readingintheparkepa.eventbrite.com

**Students under 16 will need a parent/guardian present to win or to pick up the laptop. Laptops donated by Facebook.

Reading Bonanza in the Park hopes to bring awareness to the benefits of reading by exposing kids and their families to local community resources, programs, and books for entertainment, education and empowerment.

I wanted to bring this event to our youth because of the impact books made in my life. Growing up poor and disadvantaged, my mother often took us to places that were free, including the park and the library. I was able to go to Stanford despite my circumstances because being able to read at a young age gave me an edge. With the internet and TV taking away the attention of our youth, I wanted to remind our community about the wealth in books. I am a living testimony of the power of books."
- Marlayna Tuiasosopo-Gordon, event founder and organizer.

This Sixth Annual event would not be possible without our Title Sponsors: Facebook, City of East Palo Alto and Bring Me A Book, as well as our Presenting Sponsors: Marketo and Canon Business Process Services, Inc.  Other major sponsors and community partners include: Alston & Bird LLP, San Mateo County East Palo Alto Library, Belle Haven Branch Library, Ravenswood School District, College Track, Midpen Media Center, Kepler's Books in partnership with Peninsula Arts & Letters, San Mateo County Department of Child Support Services, Reading Heart, Oxford Day Academy, Multicultural Education Services of the Greater Bay Area, StarVista, Second Harvest Food Bank, East Palo Alto and Belle Haven Chamber of Commerce, Patent Law Works, Stanford Sports Medicine, First Book, 106KMEL, Ravenswood Family Health Center, and Stanford Beyond the Farm.  This event has also received support from many other organizations and individual donors.

Reading Bonanza in the Park is also an excellent opportunity for local community members, high school students, and Stanford University students and alumni to give back by volunteering.

To sign up to volunteer please visit: http://alumni.stanford.edu/goto/event20636

High school student volunteers please register here: http://tinyurl.com/hsvolunteer2read

Volunteer :

We are excited to work with the community of East Palo Alto to put on this event. East Palo Alto is filled with gifted, talented and creative youth. Put a book in their hands and powerful things will happen.

Sponsoring Partner:

Bring Me A Book is delighted to partner with Reading Bonanza in Park to give away 6,000 purposefully selected books to low-income children and their families and to raise awareness of the literacy resources and organizations available in East Palo Alto.  This event is an exemplary collaborative effort that engages participating nonprofits to work together in order to improve reading skills and academic success in the EPA community.

The mission of Bring Me A Book Foundation is to enable all area households, regardless of income, to share with their children the enormous educational and emotional benefits of book ownership and a daily reading habit. For more information visit their website at www.bringmeabook.org.

For more information about the event visit http://www.readinginthepark.org/, check out the Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/1772979982932570/ or contact the event organizer at (415) 517-8843 or tui3@stanfordalumni.org.