Author shares love of literacy at Celebration of Reading Breakfast
Students, educators and members of the Collier County School Board and the business community joined celebrated children’s author Derrick Barnes for the 9th Annual Celebration of Reading Breakfast.
The breakfast, sponsored by Comcast and Brown and Brown Insurance, gives students from Collier County an opportunity to share a story with an author who writes to spark joy and imagination in children.
“We are thrilled to have such a wonderful author to help us kick off Celebration this year. Derrick’s books are a great opportunity to remind young people what fun reading can be,” said Liza McFadden, president of Volunteer USA Foundation. “We know, from national research, that students who read for fun in their free time consistently have higher average reading scores than their peers who read less often.”
Barnes, a new voice in children’s literature, read excerpts to the children from his series Ruby and the Booker Boys, a colorful book collection about the love and support of family and community. He also spoke about what inspires him as a writer during his time with breakfast guests.
The students each received a signed copy of “Brand New School, Brave New Ruby,” donated by the author.
“I thank the Bush family for inviting me to participate in this year’s Celebration of Reading. I am proud to help inspire Florida’s youth to continue their love of reading and tap into their own creativity through the eyes of Ruby,” said Barnes. “The artist, whether he be a painter, musician, dancer or writer, has an obligation to himself and to his environment to use his abilities to enlighten, inspire and, in many ways, change the world – stroke by stroke, note by note, step by step and word by powerful word.”
Comcast executive vice president and general manager Barbara Hagen and Brown and Brown PRIA executive vice-president Alan Florez spent the morning with the students and presented Volunteer USA Foundation with a donation of $1,000 to benefit the Collier County Education Foundation, which funds family literacy programs in the Naples community.
Barnes joined former Gov. Jeb Bush and other celebrity authors to introduce the new Love. Read. Learn! literacy program during a press conference held in conjunction with the Celebration of Reading event.
Celebration is the fund-raising vehicle for the Family Literacy Initiative, which began during Bush’s first term as governor. He was joined by his father, former President George H.W. Bush, and representatives from Dollar General and Carnival Cruise Lines, corporate sponsors the program.
For information about Volunteer USA Foundation’s Family Literacy Initiative and how to become involved with literacy initiatives within the community, visit: www.volunteerusafoundation.org.
Barnes’ current project is the Ruby and the Booker Boys series, based on Ruby Marigold Booker, an African-American girl he created based on what he thought his daughter would be like, though he and his wife only have sons. According to Barnes, Ruby embodies every determined, intelligent, creative, beautiful, African-American girl.
Barnes received a bachelor’s of arts degree in marketing from Jackson State University. At Jackson, he became a campus newspaper advice columnist. Entitled “Brown Sugar,” the column “gave me the confidence to write with purpose,” said Barnes.
After graduation, Barnes worked for Hallmark Cards in Kansas City for three years, and then his family moved to New Orleans where he published his first novel. They lived there for two and a half years until they were forced back to Kansas City by Hurricane Katrina.
Barnes currently lives in Kansas City with his wife and their sons, Ezra, Solomon and Silas.
The Education Foundation of Collier County, founded in 1990, is an independent not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to enhance learning for Collier County children and their teachers by engaging community support.
Having begun with just a single program, the foundation’s initiatives have evolved to support recruitment, retention and recognition of excellent teachers and principals, and programs designed for individual student success, all within a larger communitywide framework to support education.
The Celebration of Reading is an annual event that generates grant funding for family literacy programs through the Family Literacy Initiative, managed by the Volunteer USA Foundation. Families benefit through programs that improve education for parents and children.