 Student-athletes from the Illinois State football, track and field,
swimming and diving, women's basketball, and gymnastics programs
spent a few hours reading to the Towanda students and sharing their
own personal stories about how reading has shaped their lives.
The event began with several football players and Reggie the
Redbird teaching the students the Illinois State fight song during
an assembly in the gym. The Towanda students then told the ISU
student-athletes about a reading program they are involved with at
their school. All of the minutes spent reading by all of the
students are being combined over the first few months of school to
show how dedicated they are to reading.
After the assembly, the ISU student-athletes split up into the
different classrooms and read stories to the students, answered
their questions and signed autographs on special "Just Read!"
bookmarks.
While the event made for a very special day for the Towanda
students, the Illinois State student-athletes enjoyed it just as
much.
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"All of the student-athletes look forward to doing community
services, especially things with kids," said senior football player
Kye Stewart. "We enjoy this almost as much as the kids do."
Just Read is a community outreach program that was created by the
Missouri Valley Conference in 1998 and is co-sponsored by State Farm
Insurance. Each year, hundreds of Valley student-athletes visit
elementary schools in their communities to read to the students and
tell them how reading has affected their lives.
For more information on Illinois State and the Just Read program,
contact Jane Fulton, associate athletics director for academics and
life skills, at 309-438-2750 or the MVC associate commissioner for
marketing and television at 314-421-0339, ext. 327.
[Text from file received from
Jimmy Knodel, assistant media relations director,
Illinois
State University]
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