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| Houston youth pose for family photo with Soulbread |
“I want to be an astronaut,” “I want to be a firefighter” and “I want to be the president when I grow up,” were the phrases most commonly heard at the May 16 Seeding Minds literacy event in Houston. Children and parents spent a fun-filled Saturday at Gregory Lincoln Education Center enjoying high-voltage performances from rappers Baby Jay, and J Xavier along with in-depth discussions from local notables.
The fair’s co-sponsors, AMERIGROUP Community Care and Comerica Bank, emphasized the importance of reading and learning for children and expanding development opportunities to adults and the community as a whole.
“We understand that kids in some of our communities don’t have the resources they need to get them engaged and keep them engaged in educational activities … so we’re here to help out,” explained AMERIGOUP marketing director Jo Lynn Robledo.
Comerica Bank Community Reinvestment Act manager, Vanessa Reed, who actively practices the Seeding Mind principles to promote reading, shared a similar sentiment. “I encourage my daughter to read, and at only 8 years old, her love for reading makes getting a good book her favorite pastime,” said Reed.
The day’s activities were balanced out with noted children’s authors Carolyn Forsche (Colors Come From God Just Like Me!) and Diane King (Mr. Stranger and the Lost Puppy) reading from their respective works. “The book is directed at young readers because they need to glean and process information for themselves when they are faced with certain encounters,” says King of her work which addresses stranger danger from a child’s perspective. Youth author-entrepreneur Keith J. Davis Jr. was also available to discuss his book on self-employment for young African Americans. HOOPOE Children’s Books representative Hafeez Diwan also read stories specially written for multicultural children.
Seeding Minds participants from kindergarten through eighth grade received a mountain of free books provided by the Houston Urban League in partnership with Scholastic Books. Participants also got to a enjoy a bounty of delights provided by Shipley Do-nuts, Frenchy’s Chicken and Dreyer’s Ice Cream. Houston’s Youth Program for Enrichment a Children’s Defense Fund initiative handed out literature on personal development while Roz Shorter of Houston Cares gave away free Nike gym shoes while talking to young people about becoming involved in mentoring programs. “A mentor can be critical to a child’s development. There is an age — a stage when each of us needs that special guidance. There is no telling how far a child can go when they’ve got the proper support,” said Shorter.
Other outstanding supporters included the FOKKUS Foundation, the Houston Independent School District, Fourtion Entertainment and the Houston Public Library. –roz edward –roz edward
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