The Chiefs were out in the community once again, visiting local schools in honor of the nationwide program, Read Across America Day.
"Read Across America is a celebration across the country for people to encourage kids to read," LB Andy Studebaker commented. "It's a really important thing to be doing, especially when kids are young. This is a great opportunity for us to use our platform to promote that and visit different organizations and different schools in our city. We have some free time right now and it's cool to be able to come out here and read to kids and make them smile."
The program was first celebrated in 1998 and coincides with the 108th birthday of the famed Children's author, Theodor Seuss Geisel, or better known as Dr. Seuss. The Chiefs have been participating in the event for 15 years, promoting literacy by narrating some of their favorite Dr. Seuss stories.
"The importance of Read Across America Day is that it really allows the Chiefs Community Caring Team to come out to local schools and read with students," Chuck Castellano, Chiefs Community Relations Manager noted. "This is the fifteenth year we've done it and it's a great way to remind the youngsters of our community that it's important to read, work on your literacy, grammar and vocabulary."
Representatives of the Chiefs Community Caring Team visited ten locations throughout the day sporting a red and white stovepipe chapeau, made famous by the Cat in the Hat.
"We're visiting different schools, community groups and centers with Chiefs front office individuals, Cheerleaders, Ambassadors, Red Coaters, players and we're all out with the stovepipe hats on just to read to the kids and remind them that it's important for them to pick up a book and read," Castellano said.
The Read Across America activities are another example of the Kansas City Chiefs commitment to playing an active role in our community. Not only does this event have a positive influence on the youth of Kansas City but it also impacts the Chiefs.
"To us we just think we're coming out here to read a Dr. Seuss book and it's cute and it rhymes but to a lot of these kids it really brightens their day and means a lot to them that a Chiefs player would come to their classroom and hang out with them," Studebaker explained. "It ends up blessing us more because we end up having a blast too. These kids were excited and it's been a really fun event."
