Local families were able to get a jump start on summer reading thanks to Hillsborough County Public Schools School Board Vice Chair Stacy Hahn.
Hahn and a variety of community partners hosted an Early Childhood Literacy Fair at the Sadye Gibbs Martin Community Center, 1601 E. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Saturday. More than 500 families registered for the event and each child was sent home with approximately a dozen books, as well as a bin to start a home library and prizes from some of the participating organizations.
“This is our third Early Childhood Education Fair,” Hahn said. “The goal is to get books into the hands of kids and provide families with the resources that will impact their learning in a positive way. We know that children who have books in their home are more likely to be excited about learning to read and be lifelong readers. We have wonderful community partners. Read On myOn has been a great partner. We share the same passion and belief around the fact that developing a love for books is important for developing a love for reading.”
Families arrived in the parking lot and slowly drove through the fair, picking up books and goodies at each stop. Some of the vehicles had four to five children in them and many quickly pulled out the books and compared their finds with their siblings and friends.
McDonald’s Caspers Company, Bess the Book Bus, Children’s Board of Hillsborough County, Feeding Tampa Bay, HEF Hillsborough Education Foundation, Seniors in Service, the YMCA, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, United Way Suncoast, Suncoast Community Health Centers, Inc., Tampa Family Health Centers, Lions Eye Institute, the Lightning Foundation, Glazer Vision Foundation, myOn by Renaissance, the City of Plant City and the Bullard Family Foundation were the sponsors and partners of the event. Many of those groups were onsite handing out books or items to families as they drove through. For example, the Bucs brought the vision bus and offered free vision screenings and glasses for children in need. Suncoast Health provided free dental screenings.
Hillsborough School’s Read On myOn Partners are: the Boys and Girls Club of Tampa Bay, the Children’s Board Hillsborough County, Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County, Head Start Hillsborough County, Hillsborough County Public Library, the Lightning Foundation, Tampa Housing, United Way and the YMCA.
“We just really have been fortunate to have a lot of really diverse community partners that care about kids in our community,” Hahn said. “The next fair is May 22 and these are geared so much toward supporting summer reading. You hear about the ‘summer slide’ that so many local children experience and we are hoping some of the books we give out will help the parents engage with their children over the summer and have them reading and learning during those months they aren’t in school.”
This was the first time the literacy fair has come to Plant City. Hahn is a representative for District 2 and while the first fair was held in her district, she said that when hundreds of families showed up she realized this was a massive experience that families were eager to be a part of. She quickly shifted and began to bring the fair to children across the school district. The first fair was held in Feb. 2020, and due to COVID the events have been drive-thru experiences instead of traditional fairs.
It’s received nothing but positive feedback since it began and the community has continued to partner with Hahn to provide more and more books every time a new fair is held. It’s aimed at early childhood education, so the books are for children from birth to around seven years old.
“We know the earlier we get books into the hands of young kids, the more excited they’ll be about reading,” Hahn said. “As a school board member it’s been really rewarding to engage in the community. I hope this continues to grow and we continue to help make an impact on the lives of children and families in our school system.”
Hahn said they are always looking for more partners and host multiple book drives a year to ensure they have plenty of novels in stock. To stay up to date on the next fair, follow the Stacy Hahn school board Facebook page @StacyHahnSchoolBoard.