Students of Compton Unified and Lynwood Unified School districts had the opportunity to have Los Angeles Dodgers players and alumni read to them as part of LA Reads, an initiative to promote a lifelong love of reading.

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today marked the culmination of Think Together's month-long work with the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation to support LA Reads, their literacy program with engaging and educational resources that make reading fun for everyone. In partnership with Compton Unified and Lynwood Unified School Districts, nearly 150 second- and third-grade students across four schools participated in readings by Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, former pitcher Dennis Powell and former outfielder Al Ferrara.

"We're incredibly thankful for our longstanding partnership with the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation, which continues to provide enriching experiences for our students," shared Randy Barth, founder and CEO of Think Together. "When organizations join forces like this for our youth, it truly underscores the presence of caring individuals in their lives and creates memories that will last a lifetime."

Think Together serves more than 5,500 students in Compton Unified nearly 3,000 students in Lynwood Unified with afterschool and expanded learning programs. These students receive enriched programmatic experiences, in addition to core academic afterschool programing, thanks to partnerships like the one with the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation.

Think Together and the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation have partnered since 2015 to provide students with increased access to literacy programs, Coding for All initiatives, college and career readiness and social emotional learning. In 2023, the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation awarded Think Together a $20,000 grant to create trainings for Think Together's middle school program leaders around social emotional learning and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs.

"LA Reads is making significant strides in tackling the literacy crisis in Los Angeles, and we are optimistic that through these community events, reading will become more engaging and synonymous with success for underserved youth," said Nichol Whiteman, CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation.

To learn more about Think Together, visit www.thinktogether.org.
To learn more about the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation, visit: www.Dodgers.com/LADF.
To learn more about Compton Unified School District, visit: https://www.compton.k12.ca.us
To learn more about Lynwood Unified School District, visit: https://www.mylusd.org

About Think Together
Think Together partners with schools and communities to pursue educational equity and excellence for all kids. As a nonprofit organization, Think Together innovates, implements and scales academic solutions that change the odds for hundreds of thousands of California students. Think Together's program areas include early learning, afterschool, school support services and leadership development for teachers and school administrators. For more information, call (888) 485-THINK or visit www.thinktogether.org.

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SOURCE Think Together