Signal Hill and Long Beach Mayors Tina Hansen and Bob Foster came together with the National Center for Family Literacy last Thursday to read to the children of the community for National Family Literacy Day inside the Signal Hill McDonald’s restaurant located at 2599 Cherry Avenue in Signal Hill.
More than 12,000 children’s books were distributed courtesy of Scholastic Books at select McDonald’s restaurants in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.
Nearly 60 people crowded into the Signal Hill restaurant, which was selected as the main distribution spot for Los Angeles county.
Signal Hill and Long Beach representatives read lower grade-level books to the children who were provided pencils, crayons and other items to accompany their free books.
McDonald’s has chosen to champion the issue of illiteracy because of poor-reading levels of kids and adults in Southern California. A recent study also found that children whose parents are functionally illiterate are twice as likely to be functionally illiterate themselves.
According to board member Scott Frisbie, the fast-food chain is committed to breaking the cycle of illiteracy by giving time, facilities and resources to provide families with learning opportunities. McDonald’s also hosts Family Mealtime Literacy, a series of interactive sessions designed for preschool children and their parents.
More than 1 million families have made positive educational and economic gains as a result of the National Center for Family Literacy, which includes training more than 150,000 teachers and volunteers.
For more information on Southern California McDonald’s literacy programs, visit www.mcdonaldssocal.com.
