Summer break is a chance for students to relax and unwind from a year of learning, but the time away from school can mean a chance for students to backslide and lose vital skills like reading.
That’s why the city of Walker and Mayor Gary Carey started Mayor Carey’s Summer Reading Adventure, a program designed to give Walker’s second graders – soon to be third graders – everything they need to spend their summer enjoying good books.
To get help making this program a reality for the children of Walker, the city reached out to the community for help and DTE Energy was happy to lend a hand.
“I have heard from some of my mayor peers around the country that they do some type of summer reading program where there are donated books to read,” said Carey. “I wanted to do something extra with the backpacks and the activities and supplies that were in them. When we were putting this together, we wanted to make sure we were doing all that we can as community leaders to foster a love of learning and build confidence with our younger students.”
The city – with help from DTE and fellow sponsor, AT&T – put together backpacks filled with books, school supplies, fun extras like chalk and coloring books and even a workbook about renewable energy so students had the chance to spend their summers building knowledge.
It was a mission that hit close to home for DTE Regional Manager Jonathan Wilson.
A DTE volunteer packs a backpack for a Walker second grade student.
“I had difficulty reading in elementary school as well,” said Wilson. “My mom, an elementary school teacher in Kalamazoo, really helped me with that. But one in five adults are functionally illiterate and if your parents can’t read, you’re likely not going to be able to read. Literacy is a generational problem. Mayor Carey and I share a passion for literacy, I was completely on board to help.”
DTE volunteers – who are part of the GRP team out of the Three Mile Rd. Service Center in Grand Rapids – assembled 250 backpacks and then helped distribute them at elementary schools in Walker just before summer break began, setting students up for success all summer long.
“I believe it helps to encourage the kids to take up what will hopefully be a lifelong staple of reading and learning because they want to, not because they have to,” said Carey. “I believe that these positive early reading experiences build curiosity and enjoyment around learning, which improves lifelong educational outcomes and directly impact our community.”
It was a special event for volunteers, too, who got to see firsthand how much joy this program brought to students.
“The kids loved it,” said Wilson. “One kid said they didn’t have a backpack, this was their first one. They were just so happy that they were able to get a backpack, and it basically stemmed from Mayor Carey’s desire to help kids going into third grade read better.”
The whole project was only possible because of the partnership between the city and DTE and the shared passion for powering a brighter future for everyone in Michigan.
“We could not do these types of projects or initiatives without the support of our partners like DTE,” said Carey. “They are critical for a healthy and thriving community like the City of Walker. Partnerships like the one we have with DTE, specifically Jonathan Wilson, aren’t just transactional – they’re relational.”
“These connections build a stronger, more resilient city where public and private sectors work hand-in-hand to improve quality of life for all residents,” he said. “The tagline for the City of Walker being “a great place to live, work, and grow” becomes reality because of our partnerships with companies like DTE.”
