Student-athletes volunteered to read to elementary school students at Charlestown and Richmond Elementary School this past week. PHOTO CREDIT: NY Times
Last Thursday, several URI student-athletes joined local elementary school students in celebrating Dr. Seuss’s birthday by reading his books to the students in their classrooms after school.
The event, known as “Rhody Reads,” was entirely student-organized and brought smiles to the faces of many local students.
This isn’t the first time an event like this has taken place. After participating virtually last year due to COVID-19, women’s soccer senior Rebecca D’Anna decided to take the reins this year, reaching out to almost fifteen local schools in hopes to once again host the event in-person.
After several emails back and forth, D’Anna was able to nail down a date and time with two local elementary schools: Charlestown Elementary School and Richmond Elementary School. With the help of senior football player Christian Arrington, they were able to recruit three other student-athletes to participate.
“We’re really lucky because this year, it’s been in-person for the two [events] that we’ve had so far,” D’Anna said. “I participated in it last year and just loved the idea. The boy who ran it was Derek and I reached out to him and asked him if I could take it over for him next year when he wasn’t here.”
Arrington recruited three other football players, Dylan Brown, Caleb Warren and Montaner Fresilli, to read on Thursday and hopes to grow the number of athletes involved with each event. He emphasized how important it is to get involved with the community as an athlete, even with their rigorous schedules.
“The goal is definitely community service,” Arrington said. “To get Rhody student-athletes out there just in this community helping in some kind of way because we all have busy schedules. It is hard to do some kind of community service, but to read to the children, it’s very simple. Not only are you doing community service, but you’re leaving a mark on their life that it’s something that they remember forever.”
Both Arrington and D’Anna spoke fondly on the impact that the event had on the students and spoke on the importance of college athletes connecting with children.
“It really touches the heart to see the kids smile and they laugh and they just enjoy a good time having you reading books.” Arrington said. “I remember as a kid, if a college athlete came in, I was super excited because it’s like seeing a superhero. It’s like something you don’t just get to see all the time, so I definitely think it was a very successful event. I think we left the kids very happy.”
D’Anna agreed with Arrington, and was pleased with the amount of student-athletes willing to participate. To her, the positive reaction from the student-athletes made it all worth it.
“We’ve had a lot of football players sign up, which has been really nice and I think it’s really good for kids to see big football players reading books,” D’Anna said. “It’s just honestly been such a fulfilling experience because the kids are just so excited and they’re so happy that we’re there.
“It really makes me want to book as many schools as I can because I think just everyone seems so grateful that we’re taking the time out of our days to do this and I just wasn’t expecting like that much gratitude for it,” D’Anna said. “It’s been really nice.”
D’Anna, also a senior graduating this spring, plans to pass on her responsibilities down to another student-athlete so that these events can continue in the future.
With the next event scheduled for this Friday and plans to go to a new school every week, “Rhody Reads” is sure to continue having a positive impact on elementary school students, teachers, and URI student-athletes for years to come.