MONTEGO BAY, St James

Scores of residents in the inner- city community of Flanker last Saturday flocked the annual 2009 Sandals Foundation Readathon, a reading fair and back-to-school celebration which has assisted more than 600 members of that community since its inception in 2000.

Staged at the Flanker Peace and Justice Centre, the readathon proved to be a fully-packed event with age-appropriate ‘edutaining’ activities throughout the day.

Sesame Street characters from Beaches Sandy Bay kicked off the raft of exciting adventures for the under eight-year-olds.

Assisted by team members from that resort’s Animations Department, ‘Grover’ engaged the young ones and the young-at-heart in story-time activities followed by an energetic dance session with ‘Abby Caddaby’.

The 2009 Miss James Festival Queen, Crystal Blake, one of three celebrity readers at the event, then read several fantasy books to the eager youngsters.

Others in this age group also got the chance to learn how to play scrabble.

Mayor of Montego Bay Charles Sinclair, who is also the sitting councillor for the area, read to the eight -14 age-group, while those over 15 participated in a HIV-AIDs rap session – a new addition to the roster of Readathon activities this year.

The spelling and reading competitions, which take place annually, were again a major highlight. Winners in each category received gift packages courtesy of Grace Kennedy along with book packages.

Third celebrity reader Jana Bent, accompanied by Nicole Hoo Fatt, led an informative story writing corner, another new initiative at this year’s event staging and which attracted the teens in droves.

In the afternoon, the ladies added yet another element of creative expression during a reading of their musically inspired children’s music book, Shaggy Parrot and the Reggae Band. The young children were given various musical instruments to play during the reading and members of the Flanker Community Marching band also joined in.

Regional Public Relations Manager of the Sandals Montego Bay resort, Nathelie Taylor, was pleased with the results.

“This year’s Readathon was bigger and better than previous years. The children were engaged in a myriad of fun activities while broadening their literacy skills and the Sandals Foundation is particularly happy that each child went home with at least one book and school supplies thanks to the assistance of Bookophilia Bookstore and popular Miami-based radio host Duke of Earle,” Taylor said.

She noted that Readathon was launched by Sandals Montego Bay nine years ago and has successfully curbed declining literacy rates and increased interests in reading in the targeted age groups.

“Sandals Montego’s relationship with Flanker spans over 15 years and we are delighted that we can maintain such an active presence and further contribute in such a meaningful way to the community’s growth,” added Taylor.