FALLBROOK – Two-hundred-fifty Fallbrook school children, their parents and community members gathered at Maie Ellis on March 26 for the sixth annual Fallbrook A Leer/Reading Family Literacy Day. The free event is a community service project hosted by Live Oak Elementary School and supported by the school district, Fallbrook businesses and organizations and conducted by volunteers including 70 upper grade and high school students.

March 31, Cesar Chavez’ birthday, is the official California State holiday recognizing the contributions of Chavez. Fallbrook celebrates the legacy of Chavez through this event which encourages reading as a family activity. Research shows that children who are read to at home perform better academically and are more likely to maintain a love of reading as a life-long practice.

Fallbrook A Leer/Reading also emphasizes community service as an important aspect of maintaining healthy and safe neighborhoods. In addition to the student volunteers, members from the community volunteered as organizers of the event and as guest readers for the pre-school through sixth grade students who attended. 

Activities included workshops for parents in English and Spanish and a story circuit for children, which consisted of four different stories read to groups of children by 35 volunteers. Pat Downs and Cecilia Rincon of the San Diego Library presented the parent workshops. Each child received a new book about Cesar Chavez plus two to three additional books from hundreds donated by organizations and individuals.

Interest on the part of students encouraged this year’s essay contest to expand to include three winners, Taylor May, a sixth grader from Fallbrook Street; Caleb Munoz, a seventh grader from Potter, and Brandon Walker, an eighth grader also from Potter. They wrote moving essays about individuals who exemplified important core values of Cesar Chavez and who inspire them to be better people, winning t-shirts, books, and gift certificates.

For more information on how to volunteer for or donate to the 2012 Fallbrook A Leer/Reading Family Literacy Day, call Leticia Maldonado/Stamos at Live Oak Elementary School, (760) 731-4430 or (760) 468-0362.