Real Men Read ends third year

Tuesday, April 18, 2017
One of 22 “MENtors” who read to Putnam County kindergarten students this year, Mark Legan reads to the students of Carmen Cash’s class at Fillmore Elementary School.
Courtesy photo

With the distribution of 425 copies of “P.J. Funnybunny’s Bag of Tricks” last week, Real Men Read completed a third year of serving the kindergarten students of Putnam County.

An outreach program of the United Way of Putnam County, Real Men Read takes local men into all 22 kindergarten classrooms in the seven Putnam County elementary and primary schools.

The program runs from December through April each year, with the 22 “MENtors” not only reading to the children, but leaving each one with one book each month.

In the 2016-17 school year, a total of 2,125 books were given out, bringing the three-year total to 6,330 books given out to 1,266 children.

The program was made possible not only by the MENtors but by the generosity of this year’s corporate sponsor, Scorpion Protective Coatings. Duke Energy was the corporate sponsor for the first two years.

Program coordinator Shane Johnson, who introduced Real Men Read to Putnam County after taking part in the Vigo County, said the program is seeking a corporate sponsor for the 2017-18 school year.

The just-completed session of Real Men Read included the books “Chrystanthemum” in December, “Olivia and the Snow Day” in January, “I Am too Absolutely Small for School” in February, “Zack’s Alligator Goes to School” in March and “P.J. Funnybunny’s Bag of Tricks” in April.

Besides providing the children with books of their own, the program also promotes literacy through positive male role models.

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