The YMCA of Coastal Georgia is proud to announce the first Association wide Celebrate Reading Day on July 18, 2018. The Celebrate Reading Day program will welcome local community leaders and YMCA members to each of our locations to read a favorite childhood book aloud to our summer day campers and Child Learning Center students. Through the Celebrate Reading Day program, the Y hopes to emphasize the role our programs play during the summer months to help reduce the impact of “summer slide” in education.
 
According to a study from the RAND Corporation, the average summer learning loss for low-income students is an average of two months of reading skills, while their higher-income peers make slight gains.  Unfortunately, summer learning loss is cumulative, with low-income students falling further behind after summer without involvement in educational programming.  The Y is committed to providing quality, affordable programs for our children during these crucial summer months. Each day, our summer day campers participate in the Y Camp Readers program, logging a minimum of twenty minutes of reading. Children enrolled in the Y’s Quality Rated Child Learning Center are engaged in a variety of reading and language development activities as part of their daily curriculum.
 
Readers will be scheduled at blocks of time at each location and will share their stories with groups individually throughout the day, schedules are listed below. Our featured readers include City of the Rincon’s Mayor Ken Lee, State Representative Bill Hitchens, Dr. Lovette, Liberty County Commissioner, Randy Wetmore, Statesboro City Manager and Joel Smoker, YMCA of Coastal Georgia’s President & CEO.
 
Effingham YMCA: 9 am – 10:30 am

Golden Isles YMCA: 10 am  - 11:30 am

Habersham YMCA: 9:30 am – 10:30 am

Islands Family YMCA: 1 pm -3 pm

Liberty County/ Armed Services YMCA: 9 am – 11am

Richmond Hill YMCA: 1 pm – 3 pm

Statesboro Family YMCA: 1 pm – 3 pm

Tybee Island YMCA: 3 pm – 5 pm

West Chatham YMC: 8 am – 11 am
 
“The Y has longstanding history with providing quality educational programs for the children and families of Coastal Georgia,” shares Joel Smoker, President & CEO of the YMCA of Coastal Georgia. “We are proud to be part of a wide-spread community where so many of our leaders, partners and members are committed to tackling summer learning loss and promoting a lifelong passion for learning.”