Bank of Texas Execs Deliver $7,020 Check, Books to Support Literacy Across HCDE Head Start Centers
Style Magazine Newswire | 4/25/2019, 3:53 p.m.
Bank of Texas donates check and books to Harris County Department of Education Head Start. (left) Chris Frey, assistant vice president, commercial banking, Bank of Texas; Gary Whitt, senior vice president, commercial banking, Bank of Texas; Venetia Peacock, senior director, Harris County Department of Education Head Start; Steve Bradshaw, CEO, BOK Financial; Armando Rodriguez, community partnerships manager, HCDE Head Start; and Randy Walker, market CEO, Bank of Texas
April 24, 2019 - Bank of Texas delivered approximately 150 children’s books to Harris County Department of Education Head Start centers along with a $7,020 check as continued support for the HCDE Head Start “Read-Excel-Achieve-Lead" (REAL) SuperMENtors literacy program.
REAL SuperMENtors is a volunteer program that encourages male mentors to read aloud to children in HCDE’s 15 Head Start centers and four Early Head Start Partnerships. Children receive books from each SuperMENtor visit to build home libraries. Bank of Texas has provided support and volunteers since 2014. To date, the company has pledged and delivered $42,000 to the literacy program.
A recent Child Trends research brief found that young people who participate in mentoring programs have better attendance, are more likely to pursue higher education and have positive attitudes toward school than those without mentors. More information about volunteering is available at https://bit.ly/2Gvv4mm.
“We appreciate and revere Bank of Texas’ commitment and support for child literacy early-on,” said Venetia Peacock, senior director for HCDE Head Start. “We also recognize the community commitment several officers provide as they volunteer their personal time to read and mentor students in our centers.”
Funds donated by Bank of Texas and gifted to HCDE Head Start were acquired through the Education Foundation of Harris County, a nonprofit which supports HCDE programs and services.
