Super Bowl LI Champion Wide Receiver from the New England Patriots, Malcolm Mitchell, visited Tigerland on Thursday, April 6.
He didn’t come to run drills, catch passes or to take on the Tigers but was here to encourage TISD elementary students to tackle the literacy gap and to help them discover their inner champion readers.
Mitchell and his nonprofit youth literacy initiative, “Read with Malcolm,” teamed up with Texarkana Independent School District to hold a very special day-long celebration of reading called “No Limits to Literacy.” The in-school events, called “reading rallies,” are designed to boost reading skills and access to books for students in TISD schools.
“Reading is right,” says Mitchell, whose Read with Malcolm Initiative has grown into a national movement to get students reading. “There should be no limits to any student being able to open a book and discover the champion reader inside themselves. I can’t wait to get to Texarkana and share the magic. TISD is leading the way in creating a love of reading in students and I am proud to join them in their efforts.”
During the “Reading Rallies,” Mitchell provided copies of his book, “The Magician’s Hat,” to all students as well as reading to the students and answering questions.
Read with Malcolm is a youth literacy initiative founded by former University of Georgia wide-receiver and current New England Patriots rookie, Malcolm Mitchell. The organization’s goals are two-fold: 1) to introduce book ownership to students in households where reading is not a priority and 2) to improve literacy in schools with below grade-level reading skills.
In 2015, Read with Malcolm launched Share the Magic Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, to promote the long-term benefits of being an active reader to students served by Title I schools and underserved communities. In its first year, Malcolm Mitchell’s book, “The Magician’s Hat,” has been distributed to more than 18,000 students in schools, children’s hospitals and community service organizations. To help continue to inspire young readers, please visit www.readwithmalcolm.com for more information about Malcolm’s youth literacy program.
