SARASOTA – More than 8,800 Pre-K through 3rd grade students from 79 elementary schools across the Suncoast celebrated, Embracing Our Difference’s ‘Reading Day’
Students across the Suncoast got the opportunity to embrace their differences through reading.
“It’s so important for students to learn from a young age how to treat one another with kindness and respect and how to stand up against a bully, so that’s exactly what these book are all about, they’re all about celebrating our differences and what makes each one of us unique,” said Embracing Our Differences Executive Director, Sarah Wertheimer.
Reading day was made possible through books written and illustrated by people of color
“We really wanted to make that investment into these books, because these books are typically not purchased at the same rate, they’re not introduced to students at a young age, and we thought it was so important for students in our class rooms in Sarasota and Manatee county schools to have different experiences and different perspectives when they’re reading their book sin the class room,” said Wertheimer.
“The color of their hair, the shirt that they’re wearing is a similarity, there shirts are different, one have pants on, one has shorts on, it’s not what many at my age and adults would think that they would point out its kind of nice to see what is kind of permeating our student populations because some day they’re going to be our great leaders,” said VP of Community Impact for the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Kristen Russell.
Embracing our differences also donated over 9000 books to students across the Suncoast.
