Second Annual Philadelphia Literacy Day

Posted by Tree House Books on April 9, 2018

Tree House Books gears up for Philadelphia Literacy Day

Tree House Books is gearing up for the Second Annual Philadelphia Literacy Day, celebrating Philadelphia as a city of readers, writers, and thinkers at Smith Memorial Playground and The Kimmel Center on Saturday, May 12, 2018.

Held annually on the Saturday before Mother’s Day, Tree House Books presents a free celebration for children, families, supporters, and partners from across the region.

Coming together as a city, on this day we celebrate the strides that Philadelphians have made together to increase literacy in every one of our neighborhoods. We honor Philadelphia as a community of Readers, Writers and Thinkers! The festivities will kick off with a family event at Smith Memorial Playground (from 11am – 3pm); we also hold a satellite event at the Kimmel Center on the Avenue of the Arts. This family event will include:

Food & Entertainment: Children and their families will enjoy complimentary refreshments that reflect Philadelphia’s culture (including water ice, soft pretzels, and more!), face painting, caricature art, live music, games, and other fun activities in a carnival-like atmosphere.

Literacy Activities: From poetry walls and story time readings, to craft tables and visits from celebrated authors, guest of all ages can celebrate reading and writing through their own creative expression and hands-on learning opportunities!

The Book Market: This large-scale flea market-like book-swap will be open for all to browse and choose from a selection of new and gently-used free books to keep. Attendees can also donate their gently used books at the swap, or at any of the book donation boxes all around the event. Just in time for spring cleaning!

Family Resources: Guests will be able to visit the tables of a variety of nonprofit and educational organizations from around Philadelphia to find out about the programs they offer year round.

“We’re so excited about this fantastic event,” said Kristin Kiser, PLD ‘18 Chair and Publisher at Running Press. “It’s a great day for book lovers all over the city to share their passion for reading and writing, and show their kids how much fun reading is. Philadelphia Literacy Day is, at its heart, about bringing people together in a real celebration!”

“Philadelphia Literacy Day was launched last year because our city deserves its own literacy celebration,” added June Bretz, Executive Director of Tree House Books. “This event is all about the children and families we serve! We are so thankful to our sponsors and title partners, Read by 4th and the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, both literacy leaders in the city who have helped make this special day happen!”

Read by 4th is a citywide campaign, managed by the Free Library of Philadelphia under the leadership of Executive Director Jenny Bogoni, bringing together an ever growing coalition of partners to double the number of children reading at grade level by the start of 4th grade. The United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey has a mission to end intergenerational poverty in our region by harnessing, leveraging, and strategically investing the collective power of donors, advocates and volunteers, to help individuals and families break the cycle of poverty. Beyond working together for PLD ‘18, Tree House books has been a proud partner of the Read by 4th campaign since 2016, and has worked with both organizations throughout 2017 to ensure that all children in Philadelphia have books in their home and the tools to read them.

Philadelphia Literacy Day 2018 is being generously sponsored by corporations around the Greater Philadelphia region, such as Running Press/The Hachette Group, Quirk Books, and locally-owned businesses such as Mum Mum cards and Connect Me Voice.

Tree House Books is a non-profit Giving Library and Literacy Center on a mission to grow and sustain a community of readers, writers, and thinkers in Philadelphia. Founded in 2005, our vision is that every child has books to read and every opportunity to pursue their dreams. Tree House is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization fully supported by private donors, such as Templetown Realty and the Wieseneck Family; charitable organizations such as the Connelly Foundation and the Tioga Foundation; corporate donors such as Backe Marketing and Edelman Wealth Management, Slice Communications, Amazon, and many other generous individuals and organizations from around the city. Our donors, as well as our volunteers, are the lifeblood of our organization.

To register, go here.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/philadelphia-literacy-day-2018-tickets-44458130465

To learn about sponsorship opportunities, go here.

http://commongood.unitedforimpact.org/sites/default/files/uploads/2018%20PLD%20Sponsorships%20brochure%281%29.pdf