$250,000 Gift From the Erwin and Barbara Mautner Charitable Foundation Creates Literacy Outreach Program at NSU

“Read for the Fun of It” innitiative kicked off with celebration of Dr. Seuss’s Birthday at the Alvin Sherman Library.

FT. LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla. – Nova Southeastern University (NSU) announces a major gift from the Erwin and Barbara Mautner Charitable Foundation to establish the Read for the Fun of It program at NSU’s Alvin Sherman Library to promote life-long literacy and love of reading.

According to the Literacy Coalition of Broward County, nearly 22 percent of Broward’s residents are illiterate. Additionally, according to a Jumpstart report, children from low-income families are entering kindergarten without basic early literacy skills – predictors of future academic ability – and have limited access to books.

With its $250,000 gift, the Mautner Foundation aims to help change these startling statistics. The gift will create a five-year initiative based at NSU’s Alvin Sherman Library designed to engage youth through literature-rich programming experiences to encourage reading and writing for Broward County preschool, elementary, middle and high school-aged children and young adults.

To accomplish this, the Read for the Fun of It program will include the following five core components, which expand on the library’s current programming and add new initiatives as well:

1.     Community Outreach
2.     Families♥2Read
3.     Annual Spring Celebration of Dr. Seuss’s Birthday
4.     Summer Library Reading Program
5.     Young Authors Workshop

This exciting Read for the Fun of It initiative kicked off on March 2, 2013 with the celebration of Dr. Seuss’s Birthday, which attracted more than 800 participants to NSU’s campus. The event featured Seuss-themed tasty treats, art projects, a magic show, special story time activities, face painting, and a goodie bag of Dr. Seuss books for families to take and enjoy as a way to encourage literacy in the home.

Read for the Fun of It continues with eight weeks of fun, FREE summer programming for children, tweens and teens with expanded learning opportunities at the core of the festivities, beginning on Sunday, June 9.

Exciting programming and reading incentives for adults will be included as well – after all, the ultimate goal of Read for the Fun of It is to create a legacy of reading and a life-long love of learning and literature for the entire family.

To reach more families, the initiative will also include partnerships with other educational institutions and community organizations.

For more information about future Read for the Fun of It events and activities, please visit www.nova.edu/library/main.

About Nova Southeastern University: Located in Davie, Florida, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a dynamic fully accredited Florida University dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs of distinction from preschool through the professional and doctoral levels. NSU has more than 28,000 students and is the eighth largest not-for-profit independent institution nationally. The University awards associate’s, bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, specialist, and first-professional degrees in a wide range of fields, including business, counseling, computer and information sciences, education, medicine, optometry, pharmacy, dentistry, various health professions, law, marine sciences, early childhood, psychology and other social sciences.  Classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU was also awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification in 2010 for the University’s significant commitment to and demonstration of community engagement.   For more information about NSU visit www.nova.edu.

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Contact:
Julie Spechler
954.262.5348 (office)
954.591.3361 (cell)