MEE
DONATES TIME AND EXPERTISE TO THE "READ AND RISE" EARLY LITERACY CAMPAIGN
Hear
the PSAs Now on Urban Radio Stations Across America!
 As
summer winds down and our children head off to school, making sure that
they read and write well becomes a concern for parents. Success in those
two skills can make or break the academic and professional careers of
youth as they move into post-secondary education and eventually the workforce.
As you know, MEE consistently takes on the most pressing and complex issues
- ones that threaten the very survival of our urban communities and the
people who live here. Low literacy among African American children is
one of those issues that puts our collective future at risk.
More
than half of our inner city kids don't read at grade level, leaving them
vulnerable to school struggles and failure, and ultimately to the economic
and life challenges thrust upon those with an incomplete or inadequate
education. MEE takes very seriously our obligation to address the needs
of what are often America's most overlooked and underserved communities,
by providing messages that educate and inspire them. So, when The Ad Council
and the National Urban League asked us to develop a radio campaign promoting
early literacy among African American children (and their families), MEE
was excited about the opportunity. This campaign allowed us to play a
part in closing an achievement gap that threatens to leave too many African
American youth-and their communities-behind.
Starting
this month, a series of hard-hitting radio public-service announcements
(PSAs), developed using MEE's unique research-based creative process,
is airing on urban and Black radio stations all over the country. Each
of the four culturally-relevant PSA's tackles early literacy by reflecting
a slightly different slice of urban reality. They all emphasize the important
role of parents/guardians in preparing our children for a lifetime of
success, and urge parents to call a toll-free number to order a booklet
full of helpful tips. MEE also designed banner ads for the "Read and Rise"
campaign that will be hosted on participating Websites.
To
order or download your own free copy of the "Read and Rise" literacy
activities booklet, developed by Scholastic Inc. and the National
Urban League, go to www.nul.org/readandrise/
.
Listen
for the PSAs on your local urban stations starting this month.
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