United Way Volunteers Read to More than 3,600 Second-Grade Students

PRESS RELEASE | October 27, 2022

LUBBOCK, TX – Lubbock Area United Way hosted it's fifth annual United We Read event, today, October 27th. More than 600 volunteers read the same book at the same time in every second-grade classroom in the nine school districts in Lubbock County. Approximately 3,600 students participated in the event.

Volunteers and students read A Bad Case of the Stripes by David Shannon and participated in activities based on the book. Thanks to event sponsors, every child went home with a copy of the book and a craft to go along with the story.

United Way’s Amanda McAfee explained, “For the last five years, United We Read has been an event that has helped us drive awareness around the importance of grade-level reading. This year, we’ve been overwhelmed by the number of people wanting to volunteer and support the event. We hope that through United We Read, more families understand the importance of literacy and connect to needed resources.”

In addition to the book and the craft, parents and caregivers received a reading guide to go along with the story and United Way’s service guide that helps families connect with programs provided through the organization’s Community Partners.
United We Read is a part of Lubbock Area United Way’s Start Smart initiative. Start Smart is sponsored by Amerigroup, Atmos Energy, Betenbough Homes, H-E-B, First United Bank, United Supermarkets, and Amerigroup.