Packers, Edvest team up to keep kids reading

It’s kids and family week here at OnMilwaukee.com and, more than ever, we’ll feature articles and blogs about children’s health, education, travel, fun and more. Kids and family week is brought to you by Aurora Health Care.

One of my favorite players to deal with on a weekly basis up in Green Bay is Micah Hyde. When it comes to breaking down what’s happening on the field, he’s a go-to. So I wasn’t surprised to see that he’ll be at the Germantown Community Library tonight, reading to students.

Now, I know community involvement is a big part of every sports franchise and its respective coaches and athletes, but considering it’s “kids and family week” on the site, I felt it was important to highlight his appearance, which signals the start of the larger “Leap into Reading” program that has been developed by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, the Packers, Packers and the Edvest College Savings Plan.

It’s meant to encourage children to read during the summer, and more than 240 Wisconsin public libraries will take part in the program. 

Children who participate in the program will have a chance to win the following:

• 20  grand prizes of Edvest college savings accounts valued at $1,000 each (one winner in each library system and three at-large winners)
• 4 tickets (for each grand prize winner) to Packers Family Night at Lambeau Field
• $500 to each winning library

According to release sent out about the program, it was developed to stem “summer reading loss,” which can put students two years behind their classmates by the end of sixth grade. 

Children can be entered into the summer reading activities and events at local libraries, as well as clicking here. The entry period runs June 6-July 20.