| SAN FRANCISCO – The Super Bowl 50 Host Committee is putting early literacy on sports biggest stage a week before the Big Game by hosting three high-profile weekend events in Oakland with ACTING U.S. SECRETARY OF EDUCATION, DR. JOHN B. KING, JR. and a number of literary, sports, and musical celebrities.
On Saturday, Acting Secretary King will host a ‘Read Where You Are’ event at People’s Barber and Shop teaming up with the Host Committee, First Book, East Bay Community Foundation, OAKLAND MAYOR LIBBY SCHAAF and JUSTIN TUCK in support of President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) initiative to raise awareness about the importance of opportunities for children to read whenever and wherever they are.
At this event, First Book will announce a new initiative answering the Read Where You Are call to action. In addition, Acting Secretary King will issue a challenge to all communities to pitch in to this effort with innovative and easy solutions in their cities to create more literacy-rich environments where kids are.
On Sunday, The Re(a)d Zone, the Host Committee’s early literacy initiative, will host 500 Bay Area families for a day-long community benefit event in celebration of literacy at America’s oldest storybook theme park, Children’s Fairyland. In addition to the park’s many attractions, children and adults alike will enjoy story hour and appearances with author MICHAEL DAHL and professional athletes JAMES AND ERSON, SHAYNE SKOV, JUSTIN TUCK, and KRISTI YAMAGUCHI. Families will also get a cooking demonstration from Food Network celebrity CHEF CURTIS AIKEN, whose own literacy journey is the inspiration behind his latest cookbook, ‘ABC Soup’. All families that attend will receive books and family literacy resources, including a subscription to event sponsor myON’s digital library of more than 5,000 titles and literacy tools.
The day concludes with a Thank You party at the Fox Theater for 1,000 staff, volunteers and funders of more than 25 Bay Area nonprofits who received more than $800,000 in grants as part of The Re(a)d Zone last summer. The program will feature new early literacy announcements from local, regional, and national partners, including The Host Committee’s commitment to train and deploy a significant number of the 5,000 volunteers recruited for Super Bowl 50 as tutors for struggling readers. Acting Secretary King will close the program with remarks about the Administration’s priorities, especially as it relates to summer and early literacy. Multi-platinum, Grammy award-winning artist, songwriter and producer, humanitarian and philanthropist WYCLEF JEAN will perform.
WHAT:
3 Weekend Events in Oakland With Acting U.S. Secretary of Education to Celebrate Super Bowl 50’s Focus on Early Literacy
WHEN:
3PM-4PM, Saturday, January 30, 2016
10AM-4PM and 4:30PM-8PM, Sunday, January 31, 2016
WHO:
John King, Acting US Secretary of Education
Libby Schaaf, Mayor of Oakland
James Head, East Bay Community Foundation
Wyclef Jean, Artist, Songwriter, and Producer
Justin Tuck, Oakland Raiders
Shayne Skov, San Francisco 49ers
James Anderson, New Orleans Saints
Kristi Yamaguchi, Always Dream Foundation
Chef Curtis Aikens, Literacy Advocate and Former Food Network Chef and Mrs. Obama’s Chef for Healthy Lunch Time Challenge
Todd Brekhus, President, myON
Ralph Smith, Managing Director, Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
C.J. Hirschfield, Executive Director, Children’s Fairyland
Jason Trimiew, VP of Community Relations, Super Bowl 50 Host Committee
*Specific VIP guest appearances cannot be guaranteed.
WHERE:
People’s Barber and Shop, 2337 Broadway #101, Oakland, CA 94607 (3PM-4PM, Saturday, January 30, 2016)
Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Ave, Oakland, CA 94610 (10AM-4PM, Sunday, January 31, 2016)
Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94612 (4:30PM-8PM, Sunday, January 31, 2016) |
