Big Bend Community College student athletes took time out on Friday afternoon to deliver 500 books to local elementary school students as part of the “Disney Magic of Storytelling” program.
The college partnered with KXLY, ABC, Disney and First Book to sponsor the giveaway. The athletic department also made a delivery to Larson Heights elementary school on May 19.
“What this is doing is building the home libraries for our students so that they’ll read over the summer,” said North Elementary School Principal Kelly Frederick. “It’s very exciting when you have your own book, you don’t just have to rely on the public library. There is a correlation between reading, and ability to read, and how many books you have at home. So, this is Big Bend (and its partners) helping us build our family libraries. It’s a great project and to have Big Bend partner with our schools is just great.”
During the visits, athletes ate lunch with students, enjoyed some recess time with them, and even read books to classrooms and signed a few autographs.
“I think (our athletes) are good role models for the students,” said Big Bend Athletics Director Mark Poth. “They give a positive representation of Big Bend and what we stand for and we love to give back to the community and help out, it’s a great cause, we support it a hundred percent.”