With professional athletes becoming such a strong influence in the eyes of young children nowadays, it is really inspiring when one of these heroes takes a stand to return some gratitude to their young fans.
Peyton and Eli Manning, brothers who play on two separate professional football teams, have created a program that gives back to young students. The program inspires young children to read by turning the hobby into a competition. Individual classes are asked to support Team Peyton or Team Eli, and then, as a class, read one-hundred books to count towards their player’s total by Dec. 18. The students must read the books and then write a short book-report. At the end of the competition, the two players have promised to donate one-million dollars worth of books to kids in need.
Two classes in the McClave elementary took on the challenge. Mrs. Campbell’s fourth grade class and Mrs. Chenoweth’s fifth graders both completed the task. The fourth grade read one- hundred books, and the fifth-graders exceeded the goal and read one-hundred-four books! Both classes will continue the competition within their classes after the Winter Break. They want to challenge each other to read as many books as possible by the end of the year. Programs like this provide students with great role models in the field of professional sports. By turning what some kids would consider a chore into a fun competition; participating students are not only improving their own reading skills, but also bringing opportunity to children who may not otherwise get the chance.
