Milestones & History

In the spring of 2020—as the COVID-19 virus disrupted schools, after-school programs, and plans for summer learning—Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading sprang into action to give children and families motivation to keep reading! As the campaign welcomed back the Suncoast Summer Reading Challenge, it introduced THIS BOOK IS COOL! – a series of 100 webisodes to encourage a love of reading. It premiered on June 1, and more than 1,000 children from across the Suncoast region qualified to receive free books, thanks to the generosity of The Patterson Foundation. In total, 5,302 children participated, reading 94,383 books!

By February 2019, both Charlotte and DeSoto counties had joined the nationwide Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. The Suncoast region became the first 4-county area out of more than 300 GLR communities to work together to help children from birth through 3rd grade, especially those from asset-limited families, succeed in life by ensuring they read on grade level.

To harness the inherent power of Suncoast families and strengthen the parents who shape them, the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, with support from The Patterson Foundation, facilitated a series of book circles open to the community to explore The Power of Presence, written by Peabody Award-winning author Joy Thomas Moore. Each book circle, comprised of a small group, met regularly to discuss the book in which author Joy Thomas Moore reflects on her journey as a single mother and explores the seven pillars of presence.

More than 75 summer camp providers, library systems, school systems, summer recreation locations, foundations, teaching artists, and area businesses joined together for the Suncoast Summer Book Challenge “Blast Off,” where passionaries were trained to strengthen their abilities to combat the summer slide.

The first two Pop-Up Neighbor events sponsored by the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and The Patterson Foundation were held at the SuperMatt Laundromat/Lavandería in Bradenton and SupperMatt Laundromat in North Sarasota. Customers who walked into the Laundromats between 10am–1pm received a gift — 100% of their laundry fees paid. Jason Sowell and Lester Patascil of The Laundry Project, volunteers, the Engagement Team, and more than 80 shocked families shared joyous three-hour experiences accompanied by the gentle swish and whirl of the washers and dryers.

The theme of the 2018-2019 Attendance Awareness Poster Contest was “Strive for Less Than Five Days Absent.” In total, 49,911 students from 82 elementary schools in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, and DeSoto counties participated in the contest.

Regional winners from the four counties received an Apple iPad and four tickets to a Major League Baseball spring training game as a gift from the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading through support from The Patterson Foundation.

More than three decades ago, two Boston Medical Center pediatricians recognized their unique opportunity to have an impact on the development and health of the children they served. They adopted a simple model of prescribing books and reading aloud as a means of fostering the language-rich interactions between parents and their young children, stimulating early brain development. 

In 2017, through a collaboration with Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Manatee Community Foundation, the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, and United Way Suncoast, Reach out and Read was introduced into Sarasota and Manatee counties to help parents give their young children a foundation for success.

In honor of Attendance Awareness Month, the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading launched the inaugural Attendance Awareness Poster Contest to promote good attendance habits and help students and parents understand why going to school every day matters.

The theme was “Every Day Counts,” and the contest was open to every school-aged child in Manatee and Sarasota counties. Prizes included four tickets to Circus Sarasota and regional winners in each grade won an Apple iPad Air.