By Maddie Pedone ’26
Lafayette’s America Reads program hosted Literacy Day March 28 at Paxinosa Elementary School, coordinating a wide array of activities to encourage Easton area students to love reading.
America Reads is a program run by Lafayette’s Landis Center for Community Engagement. Throughout the year, America Reads members tutor and mentor elementary school-age children at Easton-area community partner sites, and plan the annual Literacy Day celebration as a culmination of the year for students in grades 3-5.
“Literacy Day brings together so many Lafayette organizations, student groups, Landis, and the community because we get to interact with Paxinosa, community, and schools,” says Chris Cohen, program director for Lafayette’s America Reads program. “I just think it’s the ideal event where everybody gets to participate, and everybody benefits and has a great day.”
This year, 20 volunteers from Lafayette guided Easton Area students through different activities centered around the theme of sustainability. Easton Mayor Salvatore J. Panto Jr. kicked off the day’s activities by reading aloud a story about the environment to the elementary students.
Along with sustainability, literacy remained a central focus. A book table offered piles of donated books, and kids could take as many as they could fit in their supplied tote bags.
America Reads had a record number of books donated this year from members of the Lafayette community. Cohen estimates over 500 books were given for the Literacy Day book drive from students, faculty, and Lafayette alumni.
“I have alumni reach out and donate every year,” Cohen says, noting Sandy Kazinski ’85 gives books to Literacy Day every year and has “been a big booster” for the book drive program.
Haley O’Shea ’26, program director for America Reads, notes that volunteers from Pi Phi partner with America Reads, helping to coordinate the campus book drive and distribute the books to the kids on Literacy Day.
“They helped them choose [books], and then they either sat and read with the kids or they helped [the kids] make bookmarks, which was really cute,” O’Shea says.
Lafayette student organizations created and hosted stations to teach kids about sustainability. The Pottery Club painted plant pots and helped the kids pot seeds. Eco Reps hosted a game teaching kids where different types of trash should be placed, such as composting or recycling.
“We are teaching them about plants, recycling, and things like that, but we also are trying to think of it broadly as ‘What does sustainability mean for education?’” Cohen says. “[Sustainability] doesn’t just mean, ‘Hey, our school recycles.’ It means how does our school provide these resources for kids so they can sustain a quality education?”
Following the morning activities, the kids enjoyed performances from Lafayette LIMS and the Prestigious Pardettes learning about music and hip-hop/majorette dance.
“We spent an entire year planning this day,” O’Shea says. “It’s rewarding to see how much the kids love it and [that] they have as much fun as the volunteers, program coordinators, and everyone involved.”
