SARASOTA, Fla. – The Sarasota Housing Authority, in partnership with the Sarasota Police Department, the Book Rich Environments collaborative, and Sarasota County Libraries, is proud to host our annual Books & Badges literacy event.
Books & Badges will be held Wednesday, July 13, 2022, to commemorate the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading’s National Summer Learning Week. This dual-purpose event will provide free books for low-income kids to read and mitigate against summer learning loss, as well as provide a positive interaction with police -who will hand out books – to improve relationships and trust between Sarasota Police (SPD) and families residing in public housing.
“Two of our core passions at the Sarasota Housing Authority are early childhood education and building trust between our families and local law enforcement. Books and Badges actually helps move the change needle on both issues and we can’t be more excited to bring this back to our community this year.” said William Russell, CEO of the Sarasota Housing Authority.
“Every summer our agency looks forward to partnering with the Sarasota Housing Authority and our numerous community partners for this incredible event,” said Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche. “It’s a humbling opportunity for our officers to spend time with children in our community to continue to foster positive relationships over a love of reading.”
The event will feature Sarasota Police officers handing out books to children ages 3-17. Several hundred books will be handed out starting at 10:00 am at SHA’s family public housing campus at 1912 N. Orange Avenue.
Visit Tampafp.com for Politics, Tampa Area Local News, Sports, and National Headlines. Support journalism by clicking here to our GiveSendGo or sign up for our free newsletter by clicking here.
Android Users, Click Here To Download The Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook Here Or Twitter Here.
Copyright 2022 The Free Press, LLC, tampafp.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.