Pajamas and fuzzy slippers aren’t required. But they can add a cozy dimension on Tuesday as you listen to comedian Roy Wood Jr. and R&B singer Ruben Studdard read bedtime stories for a good cause.
The two celebrities plan to participate in “Bedtime Stories for a Better Birmingham,” a virtual fundraiser for Start the Adventure in Reading, a literacy organization that focuses on kids in elementary school.
The 6:30 p.m. event features local notables -- Wood and Studdard both grew up in Birmingham -- and also includes weatherman James Spann, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, former police chief Anntetta Nunn and Blaze, the mascot for the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers. Vanessa Pettway will oversee the family-friendly proceedings.
The literacy organization, known as STAIR, aims to raise $25,000 with the hourlong event. The money will be used to provide new books and virtual tutoring for Birmingham students in the first and second grades, “helping them read better and dream bigger,” a press release says.
“Because of COVID-19, STAIR is not able to offer its traditional, in-person tutoring program, which has been taking place for 20 years,” the release says. “Since April, STAIR has provided virtual tutoring and continues to offer it during this school year. Because students do not have access to the books in STAIR’s site libraries, funds raised through this event will help cover the cost to mail each child 26 brand new books that they can read with their tutors during their virtual tutoring sessions.”
Folks who want to listen to the celebrity readings on Tuesday must RSVP via the STAIR website. The event is free, but donations are encouraged, in levels ranging from $9-$1,105. On its website, the literacy organization explains how donations will be used:
- $9 provides one student with a new book.
- $55 covers two months' worth of books for a student.
- $221 provides one full set of 26 books for a student.
- $506 fully stocks a STAIR site library with new books.
- $1105 gives five students a full set of new books.
Books purchased through the fundraiser will include “Biggest, Strongest, Fastest,” “Dragons Love Tacos,” “Happy Hair,” “The Bear Ate Your Sandwich,” “Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion” and “I’ll Wait, Mr. Panda / Yo Voy a Esperar, Sr. Panda." You can see a full list of books on the event website.
Wood, who maintains strong ties to Birmingham, helped to spread the word about STAIR earlier this year, visiting a tutoring site at Booker T. Washington Elementary School and lauding the organization in interviews with news reporters.
“When we’re talking about education, it all starts with literacy,” Wood said during his visit in February. “And if you have a good foundation and a good backbone when it comes to literacy, then the world is your oyster.”
Studdard, a former “American Idol” winner, is a Birmingham resident. “In addition to reading one of STAIR’s favorite stories, he will also be closing the event by singing the kids to sleep with a lullaby,” says a post on the literacy organization’s Facebook page.
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October 19, 2020 at 02:51AM
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Listen to Roy Wood Jr. & Ruben Studdard read bedtime stories for a good cause - AL.com
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