The Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation, along with Barnes & Noble and Everybody Wins! DC, joined forces for a Redskins Reads Bookfair this past weekend.
On Saturday, the Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation teamed up with Barnes & Noble and Everybody Wins! DC to present the Redskins Read Bookfair, which took place at 11 participating Barnes & Noble stores in the D.C. Metro area.
Six of the Barnes & Noble locations featured a celebrity guest (a local author, Redskins player or cheerleaders), who hosted story time and a meet and greet session for those who attended.
Supporters were asked to purchase a book from a recommended list of titles provided by Everybody Wins! DC, or mention "Redskins" at checkout to participate. A percentage of purchases during the event benefit literacy programs in the community.
Redskins quarterback Colt McCoy was one of the featured readers at the Tyson's Corner Barnes & Noble location. He read several books to a group of children who were excited to see a real, live football player up close.
As excited as the children were to see McCoy, his excitement level was on par with theirs, if not higher.
"I think one of the key pillars of our Redskins Charitable Foundation is youth literacy and education," McCoy said. "I'm a big believer in sitting down with kids and talking to them about that."
McCoy sees kids all the time that want to follow in his footsteps and be a professional football player. The first thing he tells them is that they have to get good grades if they want to be like him one day, and it all stems from the ability to pick up a book and read it.
"Even before that, at a young age, I believe it's important to learn how to read, and learn how to communicate and write," McCoy said. "That's kind of what we're trying to do today is empower these kids and let them know that, 'Hey, knowledge is power,' and being able to read and write, you can set your goals and dreams. Education is huge. That's the cool part of our foundation, and I think that for me, that's important and I'll back that."
Redskins' quarterback Colt McCoy and safety David Bruton Jr. spent part of their Saturday reading to children at the Barnes & Noble at Tyson's Corner, as part of the Redskins Read Bookfair.
Additionally, Redskins safety David Bruton Jr. attended Saturday's event at the Tyson's Corner Barnes & Noble location.
Bruton Jr. – who signed with the Redskins as an unrestricted free agent in March – has long been committed to children's literacy.
His foundation, Bruton's Books, helps low-income children in grades K-3 become strong readers and provides tutoring and books to underfunded schools, libraries and classrooms in the Denver area, with the goal to expand in the greater D.C. area.
Bruton Jr. read "Dragons Love Tacos" as well as his adapted take on the classic "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" before posting on Instagram that giving "maximum effort" to improving children's literacy is important.
"As an organization and individually, we owe it to our community to better our youth, and what better way than through literacy," Bruton Jr. said. "Reading enriches the lives of our youth and gives them a better chance to be successful in life."
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