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David Morales, Hope Little, and Rosalia Pagan, first grade students at Hazleton
Elementary/Middle School, Dr. Deb Carr, Director of Curriculum, Hazleton Area School
District, Jacqueline Barata, Banking Center Manager, Bank of America, sponsor, and
Deborah Pavuk, Administrative Assistant, Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce.

Continuing on a decade-long tradition, Community Reading Day will open the doors of possibility and imagination to area youth-letting them know Northeastern Pennsylvania is a great place to build a life and career.  Thatfs the message the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce is sending through its partnership in the Eleventh Annual Community Reading Day program, sponsored by Bank of America.  This event will be held on April 25th between 9:30 am and 10:30 am in the first and second grade classrooms in schools throughout Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Wayne Counties.

In addition to the Greater Hazleton Chamber, additional event partners are the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber, the Greater Scranton Chamber, the Greater Carbondale Area Chamber, the Greater Pittston Chamber, the South Valley Chamber, the Wayne County Chamber, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Reading Association, and Boyds Mills Press.  Together, these regional groups organized this annual event as part of their ongoing efforts to encourage business/education partnerships. 

The Community Reading Day program is designed to promote literacy and to strengthen the partnership between business and education.  Business volunteers will visit first and second grade classrooms in public, private and parochial schools, the Hazleton Area Public Library, and Luzerne County Head Start classrooms, to read a book to the students, discuss the book and their career, and donate the book to the class.  This event also gives the students and teachers the opportunity to interact with a representative of the business community. 

Bank of America (formerly Fleet Bank) has sponsored this event since it began nine years ago.  The company proudly takes an active role in the community, particularly with programs that create opportunities for youth.  By sponsoring Community Reading Day, Bank of America hopes to reach young people with the message that literacy and education are the keys to their future.

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