The City of Crossville Police Department announces participation in the First Lady’s READ20 Book Club whose purpose is to give Tennessee families a fun goal of reading together with their children for 20 minutes every day. A new twist on the program is giving books to Police Officers to hand out while on patrol. Taking it one step further, the City of Crossville Police Department has been taking time with our community’s young people, reading to them from donated books.

Just imagine……..

* If a child reads for 20 minutes every day, they are exposed to about 1.8 million words of text every year. That is 137 new words per minute!

* If families read together for 20 minutes a day, 7 days a week, they get more than 121 hours of bonding time every year!

* Many states use 3rd grade reading scores to predict the number of jail cells they might need in the future. (About 3 out of 5 prisoners in America are illiterate.)

* For every year you read with your child, average lifetime earnings increase by $50,000. You make a $250,000 gift to your child from birth to age five by reading aloud, just 20 minutes a day!

* Children who have not developed some basic literacy skills by the time they enter school are 3 – 4 times more likely to drop out in later years.

Reading is the basic tool for success in school, work, and life and must be promoted early in childhood. The First Lady’s READ20 Book Club encourages Tennessee children and families to read aloud each day to help young children develop a larger vocabulary, a longer attention span, better listening skills, and a solid reading foundation. Reading together will also build stronger relationships and will be fun.

If you operate a daycare or after-school program in the City of Crossville, and would like to participate in this exciting new program, please contact Cpt. Larry Qualls at 931-484-7231.