The Friends and Volunteers continue the longstanding tradition of gifting each Primary School student with a book in celebration of NEA’s annual Read Across America initiative.
“Read Across America is so important to show kids that everyone has an important story and experience that can be shared through books….Books helped me to dream about what was possible and what I could achieve.”, NEA Vice-President, 2026
A grade-appropriate book is selected for students in grades Pre-K through 3 in the Ocean City Primary School. The books are given to the children during Read Across America Week in March, when various members of the community participate in reading to the students in their classrooms.
The Friends and Volunteers of the Ocean City Free Public Library meet to lovingly stuff bags with books for each student and teacher in hopes that all students may develop a love of reading for pleasure and learning!
Schools across the country celebrate Read Across America, which began 1997 as a way to celebrate reading! Each year The Friends and Volunteers of the Ocean City Free Public Library (F&V)—along with community members—look forward to reading to K-3 Ocean City Primary School students.
The F&V Read Across America Backstory…
This beloved F&V project requires lots of planning, coordination, and teamwork. Reading to the children is the highlight, but would not be possible without…
- Collaborating with the Ocean City Free Public Library (OCFPL)…Children’s Librarian, Taimi Kelley, & F&V member, Kathleen Woodring, select books (different titles for each grade)
- Ordering and receiving the books…funds come from F&V book sales
- Creating and copying letters to parents
- Gathering the bookmarks and book bags donated by the OCFPL
- Making Nameplates for each book
- Dividing books into grade levels, and then subdividing them into classrooms.
- Gathering bags and boxes to hold the books as well as make the delivery to the school & classrooms so much easier…
- Volunteers—under the direction of Kathleen Woodring, Read Across America Chairperson—met at the OCFPL to…
- Place a nameplate into each book
- Place the letter to Parents and a bookmark inside each book
- Put a prepared book into a book bag
- Put the number of book bags needed for each classroom into a grocery bag marked with the name of the teacher and the number of students
- Place the classroom-ready bags into a larger box, and then…
- Transport the boxes for eventual delivery to the school.
To learn more about the Reading Tree Committee Responsibilities see below.
Read Across America Committee
Read Across America is a nationwide celebration of diverse readers, children’s literature, and the joy of reading. The Friends and Volunteers join in the celebration each March by providing a children’s book for each student attending the Ocean City Primary School, Pre-School to Grade Three. We enlist members of the Friends & Volunteers and our local community to read aloud in each Primary School classroom during the first week in March.
The goal of the committee is to promote and support literacy and the joys of reading in our youngest community members as well as to allow the adult readers the pleasure of sharing books with children.
Friends and Volunteers 