Santa Clarita’s summer reading program, which began on June 10 and concluded on July 27, was a success.
With a record of 5,244 participants, the program aimed to help individuals to read books while participating in workshops and shows such as Buster Balloon for children, Make Your Own Bento Box for teens and visits from local authors for adults. The theme of the program was “reading is so delicious,” and many of the books and workshops were food-related.
“Food and books inspire creativity and bring people together, so this summer’s reading program is a perfect pairing,” said Mayor Bob Kellar in the Santa Clarita Library newsletter.
The program was highly praised by participants for making reading fun.
“I had so much fun going every week to collect prizes and seeing the shows they had set up for us. I don’t really like to read, but it was worth it for the prizes,” said sixth grade student Elgin Lee, who managed to finish 25 books by the end of the summer.
The summer reading program was also an opportunity for 150 enthusiastic teenage volunteers, who logged in 3,693 hours and were crucial to the program’s registration process.
Stacy Schlesinger, the program’s volunteer coordinator, said, “The Santa Clarita Public Library could not put on a successful program of this magnitude without the wonderful volunteer force we have. We are proud to offer a fun and educational way to bring people into the library and also to provide a great volunteer opportunity for our local teens!”
“I wasn’t really a participant of the program itself,” stated volunteer Lori Stevens, “but I had a lot of fun helping out kids sign up for the program. The best part was probably when I got to hand them their prizes, because of how happy they were.”
Santa Clarita’s summer reading program will be held again next year.
