The summer break is only a few short weeks away. It’s a time for a break, but media specialists throughout Osceola County hope students will use some of that time off to further a love of reading.
Jennifer Caressimo, the media specialist at Mill Creek Elementary in Kissimmee, came up with an ambitious goal: keeping the school’s 778 students “booked” over the summer by sending every student home with a free book from the school’s book fair, going on this week.
“It is critical our students be able to continue developing their love of reading and avoid the summer slide by maintaining access to books over the summer months,” Caressimo said.
Then came the tough part: how to pay for it. She started brainstorming ideas to encourage sponsors to donate by sponsoring a student, class or grade level to further summer reading. A number of donors stepped up, Caressimo said, including Miami-based tax recovery consulting firm Bottom Line Concepts, whose generous contribution alone funded every student the opportunity to get a book — to sponsor the whole school.
A number of other local businesses, and Osceola County, also got involved to make the allpaid- for book fair happen, to the tune of about $8,000.
“Bottom Line Concepts has always been committed to supporting people and creating opportunities for growth, whether it’s for entrepreneurs or the next generation of leaders,” said company CEO and Founder Josh Fox. "In this spirit, we are proud to sponsor the Spring book fair for the students at Mill Creek Elementary School, helping to provide access to books that can inspire and ignite a passion for learning and creativity. We believe that every child deserves access to educational resources that can unlock their full potential, and we are honored to be a part of this effort to make a positive impact in the community.”
"At our last book fair, I heard a teacher tell her class that she wasn't ever able to buy anything from the book fair as a kid and it hit me the impact these elementary experiences have on a child," Caressimo said. "It ignited my passion to attempt to give every one of our students that special experience of being able to shop at the book fair and find a book they love to take home and enjoy for the summer. And thanks to our generous sponsors, we did it!
“What a great opportunity for every student to be able to make a purchase and have the experience of bringing home a book for summer. Thanks to the efforts of donors and the Mill Creek media staff, every student will able to get a book from the book fair for some summer reading.”
Mill Creek Principal Latricia Pinder said coupling seeing students excitement about books and reading with getting the event sponsored made her excited as well.
“And surprised,” she said. “I’m thankful for the investment in our kids, who all will now have a book, with the summer coming up.”
Students have spent the week visiting the Mill Creek media center with their class to choose their book from those delivered from Scholastic. The Dog Man and Wings of Fire series seemed to be popular choices for the third and fourth grade classes that toured Monday, with representatives from Bottom Line Concepts on hand.
Many students personally thanked them — people they didn’t even know — for investing in their education.
Third grader A.J. was one of many very surprised to walk into Mill Creek’s media center on Monday knowing they’d leave with their own book to take home.
“I wanted to say, ‘Thank you very much,’ and that we appreciate it. I never thought I’d be getting a book of my own for free today. Because I know nothing’s for free these days.”
