Youth Sports Club SCORES with Sing Out and READ

The Lakewood Junior Spartans football and cheer organization serves about 400 boys and girls each year in Pinellas County, Florida.

The club seeks to provide fun athletic learning opportunities while emphasizing the importance of academic success. Recognizing that a significant portion of their kids were falling behind in reading, team leadership partnered with with Sing Out and READ to start their first cohort of Family Literacy Project (FLiP) families in February. Thanks to the generosity of The Hough Family Foundation, 20 families with children between the ages of 6-12 were sponsored for the club program.

Though no one could have anticipated COVID-19, this program’s kick-off could not have been more timely. Even with schools closed, these FLiP participants have taken the reading “ball and run with it.”

Sing Out and READ, again with the sponsorship of The Hough Family Foundation is preparing for a second Jr. Spartan cohort to start in early July.

Bi-weekly check-in meetings with a full cohort of FLiP families over pizza dinners, and a big celebration at program completion have been part of been part of the FLiP program since inception. But, under COVID-conscious circumstances, these have been amended. Sing Out and READ believes feedback and encouragement go a long way to help our students achieve gains, so each FLiP family was set up for “virtual check-ins.” Upon successful completion, a celebratory dinner will be delivered to each family’s home.

Nick Griffin, long-standing volunteer coach and member of the Jr. Spartan’s executive committee, believes “Sing Out and READ will definitely have a profound impact on our kids’ reading ability and, therefore, on their academic success. It is a real game changer!”