Tyree Harris, of Empowered Directions, speaks to men at the YWCA in south Charlotte last week about the important of reading to children. The program, Strong Men Pushing Reading, is still looking for volunteers. People interested can contact Tonya Harris, YWCA family support coordinator, at tharris@ywcacentralcarolinas.org.
Strong men read…
That was the message at the April 28 Strong Men Pushing Reading event at the YWCA’s Park Road location in south Charlotte. Tyree Harris, founder of Empowered Directions, challenged men of all ages on hand to get involved in the lives of children around them, specifically young boys, and teach them the value of reading.
“The purpose of the program is to give men the opportunity to impact the life of a child, and so one of the ways they can do that is through reading,” Harris said.
Harris drew attention to the growing number of single-parent homes, urging men to get involved with nephews, friends’ children or neighbors if they don’t have children themselves, appealing to every man’s natural desire to “fix” things that are broken.
“It takes a village,” he added.
Harris passionately told the men all the different ways reading can help the life of a child, saying it not only broadens their dialogue but strengthens the child’s vocabulary, spelling, communication and broadens their mind. Harris says reading to a young man may empower the child to dream of other professions more tangible to meeting their needs than the common boyhood dreams of being an athlete or famous musician.
Harris also appealed to the group that reading is not just for women, and shouldn’t be a task only left for mother’s to do. “Women (make reading interesting,) but we don’t see men doing that,” Harris challenged, hoping men in the group were stirred to take a stance on how reading can be fun for men and boys.
Harris says reading should begin as early as infancy and be a mainstay of a child’s educational development.
“A child’s development starts at birth,” he said. “A child should be read to everyday.”
Harris suggests letting the child pick out the stories to be read, or make each book interesting and engaging by adding theatrical voices, movements or possibly acting it out.
“You’ve got to make (reading) interesting and enjoyable,” he said.
The YWCA began the Strong Men Pushing Reading program two years ago. The quarterly event was created in hopes of getting more men interested in volunteering with youth programs and to shine a light on the growing importance of men in children’s lives.
“The large majority of households in our program are single-parent households, so they don’t get to see that representation of what a man is and what a man should be,” Eddie Henderson, youth learning coordinator at Southside Leaning Center, said of why the program is geared toward men.
Each branch runs daily after-school youth programs that serve 25 to 30 children, ages 5 to 12.
Henderson hopes men who attended the event will walk away with the feeling of being empowered to do something good in the life of a young child.
“I wanted (the men in attendance) to be inspired and encouraged to take that leap of faith and come out and inspire somebody,” he said.
Interested in volunteering?
Men who would like to participate in the Strong Men Pushing Reading program can contact Tonya Harris, YWCA family support coordinator, at tharris@ywcacentralcarolinas.org.
Comments