Thanks to The Immokalee Foundation's Community Grants program, the students at Village Oaks Elementary School (VOE) celebrated the second annual summer of free and exciting reading. Students were allowed to visit the school's library twice a week due to a grant from TIF. At the library, students were able to read, use the computer, and check books out to take home.

Now, more than ever, reading is a fundamental part of young people's educations in Immokalee, as a recent study shows that nearly 70 percent of youth who drop out of school have a poor literacy rate and find it harder to succeed in the work place without such an important core skill.  The Immokalee Library event showed that kids are still excited about reading and rewarded them for their efforts.

Here are some quick facts about the event:

-At the Summer Library Celebration, 21 different students earned awards for reading between five and 23 books.
-Overall, approximately 50 students checked out more than 300 books.
-A special medal for frequent attendance was awarded to ten students.

Congratulations to the kids who won awards and to the town of Immokalee for a summer of exciting literary journeys.