Golf Event Aims To Help Kids Learn To Read

Most of us take reading for granted, from checking road signs to scanning Facebook or glancing at a menu, reading is just something we do.

Unless you can't.

The St. George Rotary Club is putting on a golf charity event next month with the express intent of helping ti fight illiteracy.

As members of the St. George Rotary, we want to extend the invitation to participate in the 10^th Annual Swing for Literacy Golf Tournament that will be held, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. Our goal is to net $7,500 from this tournament. We can’t accomplish this without everybody helping out.  Please get the word out to the community. Thanks so much!!

The event starts at 8 a.m. on Sept. 21 (a Thursday) and cost is $450 per four-man team. It will take place at Sunbrook Golf Course, with multiple tiers of sponsorship available.

Fee includes course fees, cart and lunch.

Proceeds benefit Rotary Literacy and Scholarship projects in Washington County Schools and other humanitarian projects.

It's estimated that more than 45 million Americans lack the ability to read at even a third grade level. That's 21 percent of adults, or about 1 in every 5 people.

According to The Lucy Project, "If a child is not reading at grade level by fourth grade, they are statistically likely to remain illiterate throughout their life. Not only do struggling readers experience higher levels of stress and feelings of isolation during their school years, but they also have a dramatically increased chance of dropping out of high school and entering the criminal justice system."

Additionally, children who are not reading well by fourth grade are three times more likely to end up in the criminal justice system than their literate peers. Seventy-five percent of prison inmates have low literacy or dropped out of high school.

For more information on the charity golf tournament, call 435-817-4906 or email chris.parker3@zionsbank.com.