Around 800 children and their families from the Medford and Somerville area attended the 14th annual Hillel-sponsored Read by the River event last weekend.
According to Alexandra Zeitouni, a member of the Read by the River committee, the students, aged pre-Kindergarten to the fifth grade, were encouraged to read books and complete book reports for the event. On Sunday, volunteers spoke to the children and asked them questions about the books they had chosen.
The initiative is really to improve literacy in young students in the area, Zeitouni, a junior, said.
As a reward for completing their book reports, children received free books donated by Random House and movie passes to the Somerville Theater in Davis Square, according to Hillel Program Director Lauren Bloom.
Student organizations and outside groups also hosted booths at the event, in line with this years carnival theme, according to Bloom. In total, there were 26 Tufts organizations, including Theta Delta Chi, Alpha Phi, Tufts Literacy Corps, Engineers Without Borders, Shir Appeal, Her Campus at Tufts and Hillel, as well as five outside organizations, including the Somerville Fire Department and the Somerville and Medford Public Libraries.
Activities such as face painting, bookmark making and hangman were featured at the booths, and there was even a stand that allowed kids to construct a bridge out of marshmallows, according to this years Read by the River chairs, Kara Goldstein and Jeremy Gross.
The kids really seemed to take advantage of all of the booths that were offered and spent quality time at all of them, Bloom told the Daily in an email.
Over 100 Tufts volunteers helped out at the event, and University President Anthony Monaco also made an appearance, according to Goldstein and Gross.
We felt great about it, Goldstein, a senior, said. It really just was a smooth, fun day for all of us, and the board worked really hard this whole year to make sure it was as seamless and easy as possible ... It was something that organically grew into a fun and open environment for the children.
There was also a carousel structure that was built entirely from scratch for the event, Goldstein added.
According to Zeitouni, participants were particularly excited by New England Patriots cornerback Logan Ryans attendance of the event.
Logan Ryan was also a huge hit, Bloom said. He was kind, smart and engaging and incredibly patient as he signed autograph after autograph.
Goldstein and Gross explained that one difference in this years Read by the River event was the creation of a tutoring program at the Arthur D. Healey School in Somerville. They said that they hope that both the tutoring program and the event continue to expand and reach even more children.
Its cool to kind of see the event transform over the years, Goldstein said. Lauren [Bloom] introduced us to a former Read by the River member who is older and came to the carnival with his young daughter. Its really ... interesting to think about how it might come out in another 10 years.
Gross added that the engagement between the student volunteers and the children was important in getting the children excited about reading.
We got a few emails from parents who told us that the event has become a staple that they look forward to every year, Gross, a senior, said.
Bloom explained that Tufts Hillel is committing to expanding contributions to the schools host communities.
The Jewish tradition has stressed the importance and impact of literacy, and we thought a lot about how to promote skills that would advance education and opportunity for all, Bloom said. It made sense for the people of the Book to promote reading.
