BOSTON, MA - October 13, 2016 – Jumpstart is honored to announce the official literacy champions for the 11th anniversary of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record, a national campaign that helps address the educational inequities that leave too many children unprepared for kindergarten, by engaging millions of children and adults in the world’s largest shared reading experience.
Prominent celebrities, athletes, and leaders have partnered with Jumpstart to serve as literacy champions for its 24-hour celebration, which has successfully mobilized over 17 million children and adults since its inception. Read for the Record not only inspires adults to read with children, but also spurs policy makers, influencers, and organizations to take action toward transformative change in early education while putting books in the hands of more children across the country. On October 27, 2016, children and adults will read this year’s official campaign book, The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers).
This year’s literacy champions include actors Bridget Moynahan, Josh Duhamel, Jane Lynch, Kyla-Drew Simmons, and Danica McKellar; New England Patriots’ tight end and Creative Director of Awesomeness for The Imagination Agency, Martellus Bennett; celebrity fitness trainer and motivator, Shaun T; retired American astronaut and retired U.S. Navy captain, Scott Kelly, among others.
“It’s extraordinary to have so many dedicated individuals come together to give even more children the ‘jumpstart’ they need to succeed,” said Naila Bolus, President and CEO of Jumpstart. “What began years ago with over 75,000 people reading The Little Engine That Could has far surpassed what we at Jumpstart could have ever imagined. It is a privilege to welcome our 2016 literacy champions for the campaign’s 11th anniversary, and we thank them for helping Jumpstart to continue to expand the reach and impact of one of our most innovative initiatives,” she continued.
Literacy champions will help Jumpstart’s Read for the Record engage the widest possible audience and increase the visibility and awareness around the early education crisis in America by supporting the campaign via social media, recording PSAs, and reading with children on October 27th as part of the day’s Read for the Record events and activities.
To register to read and order your exclusive copies of The Bear Ate Your Sandwich, visit readfortherecord.org.
ABOUT JUMPSTART
Jumpstart is a national early education organization working toward the day every child in America enters kindergarten prepared to succeed. By participating in Jumpstart’s year-long program, children develop the language, literacy, and social-emotional skills they need to be ready for school, setting them on a path for lifelong success. Since 1993, Jumpstart has trained 45,000 college students and community volunteers to transform the lives of 95,000 preschool children nationwide. Learn more at jstart.org and follow us on Twitter at @Jumpstartkids.
ABOUT THE BEAR ATE YOUR SANDWICH
Julia Sarcone-Roach’s The Bear Ate Your Sandwich is the tale of a bear, lost in the city, who happens upon an unattended sandwich in the park. The bear’s journey from forest to city and back home again is full of happy accidents, funny encounters, and sensory delights. The story is so engrossing, that you will not see the surprise ending coming!
