City of Statesboro's "Leading by Reading" event promotes local youth literacy

On Tuesday, June 27th, the City of Statesboro held its first “Leading by Reading” community event. The event was held in partnership with the Statesboro-Bulloch County Library. The event looked to increase local youth literacy, while promoting role-model engagement in the process.

June 27th "Leading By Reading" event done by the City of Statesboro in partnership with the Statesboro-Bulloch County Library. Pictured above are the "Our Girls Rock Too Camp S.C.R.E.A.M" alongside City of Statesboro City Attorney, Cain Smith, and City of Statesboro Youth Program Director, Dr. LaSara Mitchell

On Tuesday, June 27^th, the City of Statesboro held its first “Leading by Reading” event, which was done in partnership with the Statesboro-Bulloch County Library.

The event began at 10am at the library and featured Cain Smith, the City Attorney for the City of Statesboro.

leading-by-reading8 — City Attorney Cain Smith reading to the girls of "Our Girls Rock Too Camp S.C.R.E.A.M."

Smith read to a group of local children, many of whom were participants of the “Our Girls Rock Too Camp S.C.R.E.A.M.”

The mission of Our Girls Rock Too!, Inc, is to encourage young ladies to become comfortable in their own skin and love themselves through participating in self-esteem and image-building exercises. Stacey Grant is the Founder of OGR2. Camp S.C.R.E.A.M is an extension of the OGR2 organization. S.C.R.E.A.M. is an acronym which stands for Successful. Confident. Resourceful. Engaged. Ambitious. Motivated. For more information the “Our Girls Rock Too!” organization, CLICK HERE.

The event was open to the public and the attending children had the opportunity to learn about local government and receive a free book and goodie bag to take home.

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The second “Leading by Reading” event will be held on July 25^th at 10am at the library (FREE of Charge).

city-of-statesboro-reading — (Photo Sourced from the City of Statesboro Facebook Page)

Dr. LaSara Mitchell, Youth Program Coordinator at the City of Statesboro, shared, “When creating this Leading by Reading series, I wanted it to be purposeful and engaging for the participating youth. There are multiple studies that show that reading to children has a positive effect on helping them to excel in school.”

leading-by-reading-2 — Dr. Lasara Mitchell quizzing the girls of "Our Girls Rock Too Camp S.C.R.E.A.M" on some facts about city government.

“It is important to engage our children in every way possible and to encourage them to become life-long readers," Mitchell continued. "The City of Statesboro is excited to partner with the Statesboro-Bulloch County library for this 'Leading by Reading' series. Furthermore, we would like to thank our City Officials for participating, and helping us carry out this initiative.”

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