Sing Out and READ’s Success Stories Soirée

It was an evening of stories and song, of community teamwork and tales of children who made heartwarming and astounding reading gains in a short period of time.

Thanks to our supporters, partners and donors, Sing Out and Read’s first-ever fundraising Soiree was an overwhelming success. The James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art in St. Petersburg proved the perfect setting for listening to children and parents share their life-changing experiences with our Family Literacy Project.

Our Board helped us to Stock the Bar and our emcee Dr. Alex Harris, singer, actor and philanthropist, moved attendees to tears with the performance of his award-winning song, "Humanity." Dr. Harris co-founded the Arts Conservatory for Teens (ACT) to provide arts education to under-served school systems. ACT students treated the audience to a beautiful song, an uplifting dance and an interpretive poetry reading.

Support from the Tampa Bay Rays and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got our auction off to a great start. Our Bid from the Heart segment featured a testimonial video where some of our program completers and their parents told us about how our sing-to-read program really works and how reading better has made a big difference to their lives.

The event highlighted the generosity of the Tampa Bay community and beyond. Through the help of our donors – new and old – we reached our fundraising goal and will be able to serve 100 more families, saving, young at-risk children from illiteracy and ensuring them a brighter future.

Check out photos from the night of the event and our Mission Moment video below!