Leaders joined hundreds of volunteers across Broward County in participating in this year’s Read for the Record. Elementary school students countywide were treated to a reading of Maybe Something Beautiful, and the day was truly a beautiful experience for all involved.
Here in Weston, Mayor Daniel Stermer and Director of Communications Denise Barrett-Miller read to children at Manatee Bay Elementary School, while students at Indian Trace Elementary School were treated to a story time session with BSO Deputies Gago and Hernandez.
“If you have ever read to a child and seen the sparkle in their eyes… imagine reading to an entire class,” shared Barrett-Miller.
Read for the Record is sponsored nationally by Jumpstart, an early education organization. This annual campaign was launched more than ten years ago to highlight the importance of building early literacy and language skills for every child, so that all children have the opportunity to enter kindergarten prepared to succeed.
Through a partnership with the Children’s Services Council, every pre-kindergarten and kindergarten student in Broward County received a copy of this year’s book, Maybe Something Beautiful. That’s 40,000 books for 40,000 children.
Maybe Something Beautiful, by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell and illustrated by Rafael Lopez, is based on a true story of how art can inspire change and how even the smallest artists can accomplish something big.
The beautifully-illustrated children’s book tells the story of a community’s triumph against the darker forces of social decay. In the story, Mira decides to paste her drawing of a sun on one of the dark walls of an alley to bring brightness to the smiles of her neighbors. Although told as a child’s story, Maybe Something Beautiful is a true story of transformation, based on the work of two exceptional people committed to art and social justice. Rafael and Candice López turned the alleys of the East Village in San Diego into art canvases, and the darkness of their neighborhood into a world of possible hope and beauty.
To learn more about Broward Reads for the Record, including how to volunteer next year, go to www.cscbroward.org/browardreads.