Community Reading Day - The Melrose Messenger

The Bridge Hosts Annual Community Reading Day in Melrose Schools

By Ellen Putnam

On Tuesday, almost 100 Melrose residents came into preschool and elementary classrooms to read to students for Community Reading Day, an annual event that many Melrosians look forward to every year.

The readers included elected officials, both past and present; city employees; owners and directors of local nonprofits and businesses; and many more community members. Some readers chose books that related to their work in the community:

Erica Brown, the Executive Director of the Council on Aging, read The Oldest student;
Jana Gimenez, the Executive Director of The Food Drive, read Saturday at the Food Pantry;
Julie Unger, the owner of The Kitchen, read Dragons Love Tacos;
Stephanie Nelson, the Executive Director of the Melrose Chamber of Commerce and co-Chair of Melrose Kind, read Be Kind;
And local author Sara Reish Desmond even brought in a copy of her own book to show students!

Community Reading Day is organized by The Bridge, a local nonprofit that has worked to manage and place community volunteers in the Melrose Public Schools since it was founded in 1993. Lisa Payne, the Board President of The Bridge, shared, “our goal is to connect community members to the public schools to enrich the lives of students.”

The Bridge has been involved in a number of initiatives designed to strengthen the connections between the schools and the community. Last month, for example, The Bridge organized a career day where over 70 volunteers spoke to students at Melrose High School about their work.

And last spring, The Bridge organized a Civics Day where Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School (MVMMS) students toured City Hall and learned about different aspects of city government from city officials, including Mayor Jen Grigoriatis. “The civics teachers had the idea,” explained Payne, “and they looked to The Bridge to help coordinate.”

Another event The Bridge made happen took place earlier this year, when MVMMS math teachers were out of the classroom for a professional development day. The Bridge’s Director Lisa Lewis reached out to volunteers who had a background in STEM to ask if they could come in to talk about their work. “Here’s a need,” explained Payne, “These kids could just be sitting around doing worksheets while their teachers were out, but instead we were able to coordinate so they had this special thing they wouldn’t have normally had.”

The Bridge often collaborates with the Melrose Education Foundation, which provides grants for teachers to try out new ideas or get special equipment. In the fall, for example, The Bridge brought Tom Furrier, the owner of Cambridge Typewriter Co., in to let MVMMS students try out typewriters; when their teacher saw how focused the students were when they were using the typewriters, he applied for a grant from the Melrose Education Foundation to purchase two typewriters for the classroom.

“We recognize that at the elementary level, a lot of our activities are things that have been ongoing for a long time - reading a book to your child’s class, or helping out in the library,” said Payne. “But we’ve been trying to focus our energies on expanding opportunities at the older grade levels especially, to be able to bring the wonderful knowledge and expertise of the Melrose community into the classrooms and give the students a unique experience.”

On March 29th, The Bridge will be hosting the 24th annual Trivia Bee, which is one of the organization’s main fundraisers for the year. “It originally started as a spelling bee,” explained Payne, “but we more recently transitioned to the pub-style team trivia people know. What makes the Trivia Bee special,” she went on, “it’s a cross-section of the community, whether it be members of the School Committee, or participants from various schools who get together. There’s usually a group from Melrose Youth Soccer, and some Band-Aiders. It’s a nice representation of various groups in Melrose.”

The Trivia Bee kicks off the yearly online auction, so “if you’re not a trivia buff, that’s OK,” quipped Payne, “the online auction is a wonderful resource. There’s some fun stuff in there, and there are bargains to be had every year.” Community members can also show their support for The Bridge by joining the Honor Roll, which allows donors at various levels to have their names displayed throughout the year.

To learn more about The Bridge and purchase tickets for the Trivia Bee, visit their website.