READING THE ROOM

THE Y HIGHLIGHTS READING AT SUMMER CAMP PROGRAMS

For more than 10,000 children across the city, summer camp meant not only playing games, going swimming, singing songs, making art, and bonding with friends—it meant celebrating reading and building skills to combat summer learning loss.

Many camps highlighted literacy and offered at least 30 minutes of reading per day, while at one location a unique partnership supported by the Pinkerton Foundation enabled campers to attend specialized literacy sessions in the mornings with Jamaica Reads and take part in traditional Y camp activities in the afternoons.

Throughout the summer special guests visited and shared in the love of reading. Older campers also had opportunities to ask elected officials about their roles and discuss campers’ plans for the future.•

(top) Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie at the Northeast Bronx Y (above) Assembly Member Phara Souffrant Forrest at the Bedford-Stuyvesant Y

Council Member Farrah Louis at the Flatbush Y

Council Member Julie Won at the Long Island City Y

Council Member Christopher Marte at the Chinatown Y’s Beacon 131 Summer Rising program

Council Member Robert F. Holden at the Ridgewood Y

Council Member Kevin Riley at the Northeast Bronx Y

State Senator Joseph P. Addabbo Jr. at the Ridgewood Y

State Senator Jamaal Bailey at the Northeast Bronx Y

Congress Member Nicole Malliotakis at the Broadway Y

State Senator Jabari Brisport at the BedfordStuyvesant Y

State Senator Brian Kavanagh at the Chinatown Y