UGA football star launches reading program at YMCA

By Kali Mann

(October 26, 2018) Atlanta, Ga — On Thursday, October 25, former UGA football player and Super Bowl champion, Malcolm Mitchell launched his after school program, "READTeam" in partnership with the Andrew and Walter Young Family YMCA. The program is part of Mitchell's Share the Magic Foundation and helps Atlanta's youth who are at risk of academic failure.

The YMCA and the Share the Magic Foundation created the READTeam as a direct response to low reading proficiency levels, and to introduce early learners to the long-term benefits of being an active reader. The 8-month pilot of the program will involve 50 Atlanta Public School students in grades 2 through 6, whose reading scores are one to two years behind reading proficiency standards.

READTeam held a tailgate-themed family kick-off to officially launch the program, where each participating student received a copy of Mitchell’s children’s book, “The Magician’s Hat.” Through grant support from Wells Fargo, Bennett Thrasher Foundation and KPMG, students will amass their own home library of 20 books by the end of the program.

Gavin McGuire, executive director of the Andrew and Walter Young Family YMCA, said, “We are very excited to team up with Share the Magic Foundation to expand our after-school program to include a focus on building vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. Reading is a fundamental skill-crucial for academic and life success. The support our students will receive from their Literacy Coaches as part of READTeam will be invaluable.” “Research repeatedly shows that motivation to read decreases with age, especially if a child’s attitude towards reading is not positive. Through this partnership, we are building a literacy-focused model complementary to the Young Family YMCA’s existing after-school program.

"Our goal is to support each student in meeting or exceeding grade-level milestones in reading proficiency,” said Beth Pann, executive director of Share the Magic Foundation.