Latest news with #RiverCityReaders'
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
1 year since its launch, Jacksonville Mayor's ‘River City Readers' have read 2.4 million minutes
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan is stepping up to meet the literacy needs of local children. She said it's not just part of her platform for a stronger Jacksonville, but her passion. She launched 'River City Readers' in 2024, challenging local children to read 300,000 minutes in a year. The kids smashed through that goal, passing more than a million minutes in a matter of weeks. By March 2025, participants passed 2.4 million minutes of reading. 'Just incredible to see how excited kids were to be part of this program,' Deegan said. 'I think, part of it … if I'm honest, is that we made it a competition.' The program includes prizes and fun incentives to help encourage kids to read. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Studies show low literacy rates are linked to issues like crime, poverty, and unemployment. Another factor that leads to illiteracy is when children miss too much school. That prompted the city to launch the 'Show Up to Shine' program. It's an initiative that encourages good attendance while bringing together a network of partners to help keep struggling kids in school and to keep them going back. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] 'It's really very much like our River City Readers program that gives kids incentives for showing up to school,' Deegan said. 'We want all of our kids to show up because when they do, they're gonna learn. If they don't, that's gonna be a problem.' And the Mayor's literacy push hit the road, with the River City Readers Bookmobile. It was paid for through private donations from the Lucy Gooding Foundation and PNC Bank. 'I love the idea of being able to bring books to children, but also, especially in areas that, you know, where kids may not so easily be able to get to a library or perhaps, you know, they have other challenges getting close to books' Deegan said. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan visits River City Science Academy with her bookmobile
In honor of 'Celebrate Reading Week,' Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan brought her bookmobile to River City Science Academy's Southside campus on Wednesday. Deegan read to students and reminded them of the 'River City Readers' challenge, which encourages kids to read for 20 minutes a day to help improve their reading skills. Students were also able to pick books from the bookmobile and were given book bags. The Jacksonville Public Library's Main Library downtown will host a 'Family Reading Day Celebration' on Saturday. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] It will have different events centered around reading and encouraging kids to read. Children will also be able to get a free book. The celebration starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 12:30 p.m. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] In a few weeks, Tenikka's Books for Kids, the annual book drive spearheaded by Action News Jax's Tenikka Hughes, will kick off. It's the eighth year for the drive that provides children with an opportunity to get free books and a chance to log more minutes of reading. Tenikka's Books for Kids 2025 will take place March 17-29. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
