On Saturday, April 27, 2019, the sixth annual Readers in the Outfield event took place at Angels Stadium. The event, sponsored by the Angels Baseball Foundation and MemorialCare, celebrated the 100 proud second-graders who recently graduated from The Literacy Project program.
The Readers in the Outfield event has been held every year since 2013 to recognize the literary achievements of enrolled second-graders. This year those students were proudly representing the Santa Ana Unified and the Anaheim City School Districts. Also in attendance were their Master Teachers along with the following board members of The Literacy Project, Penny Fox, Sinan Kanatsiz, and Angels Baseball Chairman Dennis Kuhl. The founder of The Literacy Project, Sue Grant, was also able to take part in this year’s special celebratory event.
An Angelic Lunch
The second-grade students and their Master Teachers were treated to a sponsored lunch, courtesy of Legends, at the Saint Archer Brewery Restaurant inside the stadium. There, they shared a delicious meal with famed Angels Alumni—Rod Carew, Bobby Grich, and Clyde Wright. These former players really lived up to their team’s namesake by sharing their own inspirational stories about life, literacy, and perseverance with the students.
Work Hard, Play Hard
The students and Angels Alumni wrapped up their meal by playing The New Phonics Game; a game and learning tool co-developed by The Literacy Project and The Regents of the University of California. The New Phonics Game is made up of both card and board games that help teach children the specific phonetic skills needed for reading comprehension and literacy development. This game was instrumental to the literacy success of the students who graduated from The Literacy Project’s program and was especially fun to play with the Angels Alumni.
The students also had the opportunity to participate in a raffle and win prizes such as autographed Angels baseballs and autographed pictures. Furthermore, there were outdoor games on the field, face painting, and a prize wheel for the graduates to take part in. The students truly had a wonderful day. Executive Director of The Literacy Project, Kimberly Vig, expresses her gratitude to the sponsors who made it all possible, “We are so grateful to partner with the Angels Baseball Foundation to create Readers in the Outfield for the last six years. It’s amazing to see the look on our student’s faces as they enter the stadium. They deserved to have a fun day and be recognized for their reading achievements.”
The Fun Continues
The hosts of this year’s Readers in the Outfield event made sure that each student knew the value of their hard work and dedication. To recognize their outstanding achievement in overcoming illiteracy, each student left the stadium that day with four tickets to enjoy a future 2019 season Angels game with their families.
The sixth annual Readers in the Outfield event would not have been possible without the hard work and support from our generous sponsors, our board members, and our Master Teachers. To learn more about future events and how you can support our mission to put an end to illiteracy, click here.