via team press release
Beginning Sunday, May 25, the Rays and Suncoast Credit Union will partner for the launch of the 18th season of Reading with the Rays—Read Your Way to the Ballpark, an incentive-based reading program that encourages Pre-K to 12th grade students to avoid summer learning loss by reading for a total of 24 hours during the summer months.
Libraries and Suncoast Credit Union branches participating in Reading with the Rays track students’ progress and award prizes for reaching certain goals, including a bracelet, a cup, a stress reliever, and free Minor Savings Account voucher from Suncoast Credit Union.
Reading with the Rays is made possible with the help of public library systems and education foundations in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Osceola, Citrus, Polk, Pasco, Hernando, Sarasota, Charlotte, DeSoto, Lee and Collier counties. Students can pick up their Reading with the Rays game card at a participating library, local Suncoast Credit Union Branch or they can download a game card at RaysBaseball.com/Reading.
“Reading with the Rays is one of our favorite summer traditions. This program promotes literacy, and also gives families a simple, joyful way to stay connected through reading,” says Bob Hyde, Vice President of Community Impact at Suncoast Credit Union. “When kids pick up that game card and see that their reading can lead them to savings and a real savings account, it turns learning into something empowering and lasting. That’s the kind of impact we’re committed to at Suncoast.”
Since the program’s inception in 2007, more than 540,000 children across nine area counties have spent more than 3.49 million hours reading over the summer. For more information about the program, visit RaysBaseball.com/Reading.