Local fraternity teaming up to help kids read

Aniza Cantillo / Contributing Writer

A fraternity on campus is helping kids who can’t read well. The Iota Omicron chapter of the Theta Chi fraternity is teaming up with literacy awareness organization Reading is Fundamental for Theta Chi’s main philanthropy event this semester called Story Time Live!

According to rif.org, Reading is Fundamental is “the largest children’s literacy nonprofit in the United States. RIF prepares and motivates children to read by delivering free books and literacy resources to those children who need them most.” The headquarters for Reading is Fundamental is located in Washington, D.C., but it does have an outreach program in Miami-Dade which helps out with the Miami-Dade Family Learning Partnership. “We wanted to give back to something closer; that it hits home like more to FIU,” said Gabriel Jose Bonilla, senior psychology major, and the chapter’s philanthropy chair.

Story Time Live! is a competition where groups of University students get together to compile stories for children. Students write the story from scratch, then the fraternity reads through them and makes sure they’re appropriate for elementary school. The kids will read the story as the students act it out for them. The kids are going to judge which story they liked best and vote for their favorite. The winners of Story Time Live will be receiving 10 percent of what is collected the entire week through registration and donations, while the other 90 percent will go to Reading is Fundamental.

The Iota Omicron chapter chose Reading is Fundamental as its philanthropy because it believes reading really is fundamental.

“Literacy is something that is very important and, I mean, we’re educated students — we’re college students — and there are a lot of organizations getting helped, but,” Bonilla started. “We have kids that come in only speak Spanish and they are in ESOL classes and kids that come from everywhere and they can’t speak English. They speak everything but English, and reading is definitely a gateway to not only learning but to anything….”

Theta Chi is doing a book drive throughout the week leading up to the main event, which will be donated to Reading is Fundamental and schools around Miami-Dade County. The event is this Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the FIU stadium club.

“A lot of kids look up to us and FIU as a beacon for Miami,” said Bonilla.

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