Discovering a whole new world

KPMG partners with CYC to encourage summer reading

Aniya reads her favorite book this summer.

Discover: to find something unexpectedly in the course of a search.

When 9-year-old Aniya started her summer reading program, she wasn’t quite sure if she would discover anything. But she pushed through and read 780 minutes this summer, developing a love for reading.

“All the hard words I couldn’t read in second grade, I can read now,” Aniya, who attends CYC-Sidney Epstein Youth Center in North Lawndale. Her favorite word that she has learned is… “discover.”

At the beginning of the summer, KPMG distributed nearly 500 books to CYC kids through KPMG Family for Literacy (KFFL).

KFFL’s mission is “to put books in the hands of Chicago’s readers – increasing home book ownership and making a difference in literacy rates.”

a kpmg employee helps a cyc child pick a new book.

“It was inspiring to spend my Monday morning with young students who shared their favorite books with me and received recognition for the amount of hours they read during the summer,” said Agnes, a KPMG intern. “I am thrilled to have witnessed how KPMG’s investment in KFFL is an investment in the students’ futures.”

Clarence Hogan, Center director at CYC-Epstein, said he believes reading is the foundation of education.

“It opens up the imagination of our young people to see a world they might not see literally,” Clarence said. “It gives them a love for reading. Reading is an escape, it’s therapeutic.”

This time of year is notorious for the “summer slide,” where children lose literacy skills during their two-month vacation from school. However, at the Center, Clarence said he saw an uptick in kids reading for fun. By taking care of their own books, they felt ownership and enjoyed reading. We’re so thankful to KPMG for successfully supporting our summer reading initiatives… and helping our kids discover a new love for words!