What is the Hampton-Newport News Mayors' Book Club?
When Ms. Molly Ward became Mayor of Hampton, VA, she asked that a special effort be made to improve the reading skills of our children. Thus, Hampton's Mayors Book Club was created in 2008. Now, every month during the school year, over 60 community leaders and volunteers read the Book-of-the-Month to more than 4,000 students over 200 Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 1st grade public and private classrooms throughout the city. Children in Pre-K are each given a copy of the book to keep and take home. Copies of the book are also placed in each of the classrooms and each school library collection to be available to the older children. The Mayor's Book Club ran with great success for three years when the Kiwanis Club of Young Professionals in Newport News, a club comprised mostly of teachers working in Hampton's neighboring town, learned of the program, evaluated it's success and potential and proposed to the newly elected mayor of Newport News, McKinley Price, that a similar program be introduced into the schools in that city. Rather than "reinventing the wheel", Mayor Price joined with Mayor Ward to sponsor the joint Hampton-Newport News Mayors' Book Club which began in October 2011. The combined Mayors' Book Club now serves 7,000 students in 350 classrooms and over 3,000 copies of the Book-of-the-Month are distributed. Reading is a critical skill and has become a core value in our two cities.
Hampton Mayor George Wallace reading at the Downtown Hampton Childhood Development Center and at the Moton Early Childhood Center.
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Become a READER at a Hampton school Hampton Mayor Molly Joseph Ward
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Be a READER at a Newport News school Newport News Mayor McKinley Price
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Serving Hampton & Newport News and in cooperation with the Reading Club of Poquoson
click here for a map of this area
Not only do the Mayors read each month - but also judges ; active and retired military (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard); Kiwanians; police; fire fighters; civil service members, retired folks; high school and college students; school board members; clergy; farmers; doctors; homemakers; Dads, Moms, & grandparents; white collar, blue collar and no collar workers; sea captains; tug boat operators; fishermen; oystermen; contractors; politicians and attorneys.
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