Zooming into Another Year of Impact: The Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading’s Community Update Zoom

Recently, the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (SCGLR) hosted its annual Community Update via Zoom.

With over 200 participants joining, the Virtual Community Update (VCU) offered SCGLR the opportunity to reflect on the past year and align aspirations for the future. VCU displayed the approach SCGLR uses to build a movement, including engaging people, businesses, nonprofits, the government, and the media. SCGLR’s VCU also showcased the intense and collaborative work that the campaign’s lead partners are doing within each of their respective counties:

United Way Suncoast leading the way in Manatee and DeSoto counties

United Way of Charlotte County leading in Charlotte

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County leading in Sarasota

One participant stated, “Thank you to everyone in our community for doing such great work to help children love reading!” Another said, “The connective tissue between these partners and our communities is so inspiring!”

Whether we were exploring Charlotte County and their partnership within the community and their use of a mobile library bus, seeing Sarasota County’s partnership with after school providers, or witnessing Manatee and DeSoto county’s approach to seeing the work through, our day was filled with meaningful examples of ways SCGLR is interwoven into the community.

A second highlight of the VCU was the announcement of the progress made by Suncoast area children through their participation in THIS BOOK IS COOL! and the 2021 Suncoast Summer Reading Challenge. Attached in the image below are the four-county totals for THIS BOOK IS COOL! and the 2021 Suncoast Summer Reading Challenge.

The climax of the 2021 VCU was the official announcement of The Patterson Foundation’s newest initiative, spearheaded by SCGLR, Suncoast Remake Learning Days.

Remake Learning Days Across America is a 10-day festival celebrating the many learning opportunities in a community. This celebration highlights innovative experiences and opportunities for youth and participants of all ages to develop their sense of creativity, perseverance, and curiosity through the use of seven themes:

• Youth Voice
• Maker Spaces
• Professional Development
• Arts
• Outdoor Learning
• Science
• Technology

The Suncoast became the most recent region to become a part of Remake Learning Days. Suncoast Remake Learning Days will be a 10-day festival of free, experiential learning events for children and families. Think of it as the world’s largest multi-venue open house for hands-on learning hosted by partners in the Suncoast region from April 29th, 2022-May 8th, 2022.

Woven throughout the VCU was the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading’s five pillars:

• School Readiness (the Zero to 5 years)
• Attendance
• Summer Learning
• Family Engagement
• Health Determinants

These five pillars allow SCGLR to address the most common issues and obstacles impacting a child’s reading ability.

One participant said, “We are so thankful for this encouragement, and seeing the results just reinforces how important it (the work) is.” SCGLR is grateful to have shared yet another year of accomplishment, effort, intentionality, creativity, learnings, and connectivity.

SCGLR looks forward to the next year filled with even more adventure, hard work, and collaboration as we continue toward our shared aspirations and imagine the possibilities ahead.