Read for 15 program builds strong readers

Congratulations to all the students who completed 15 weeks of reading for 15 minutes outside of school every day as part of Read for 15! And a big shout-out to the 15 and Mahomies Foundation for launching the program — and to our Reading Mentors for encouraging our students to “Read for 15”! 

Students at fifteen Lead to Read KC partner schools received books as part of Read for 15, via our partnership with the 15 and the Mahomies Foundation, the Overland Park Rotary Club and the Kansas City Chiefs Ambassadors. More than 25,000 books were provided! 

Check out our video of the Read for 15 program launch at Brookside Charter School to see how excited the kids are about reading! Roger Offield of Brookside Charter said this about the program:  

“Lead to Read’s continued partnership with Brookside Charter School has created a positive impact at our school. Our students look forward to reading with their mentors each week, even in a virtual setting. We especially appreciate the connection to the Read for 15 program and the Rotary Club of Overland Park. Because of them, all of our students received a book to take home, and they all were challenged by Patrick Mahomes himself to read for 15 minutes each day. Lead to Read is so much more than reading, it’s connecting the community to our school to create lasting partnerships.” 

Another fun day? Read for 15 pizza party day! Students at Lead to Read KC partner schools, including George Melcher Elementary (shown below), were among those receiving Read for 15 pizza parties, courtesy of 15 and the Mahomies. The thank you notes below, from student participants to Patrick Mahomes, say it best.

Encouraging children to read at home is an important part of helping children become strong readers, and at Lead to Read KC we hope that by supporting Read for 15, children will read wherever they may be!