"The Value of Reading is Priceless"

The Delray Beach Campaign for Grade-Level Reading invites you
to join us on ​Thursday, November 8, for Delray Reads Day!

​More details to come soon.

​Featured Book

This year's Delray Reads Day book was Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie. Thunder Boy Jr. is named after his dad, but he wants a name that’s all his own. Just because people call his dad Big Thunder doesn’t mean he wants to be Little Thunder. He wants a name that celebrates something cool he’s done, like Touch the Clouds, Not Afraid of Ten Thousand Teeth, or Full of Wonder.

But just when Thunder Boy Jr. thinks all hope is lost, he and his dad pick the perfect name…a name that is sure to light up the sky.

National Book Award-winner Sherman Alexie’s lyrical text and Caldecott Honor-winner Yuyi Morales’s striking and beautiful illustrations celebrate the special relationship between father and son.

​Keynote Speaker

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Former NFL player and Hall of Famer Dwight Stephenson has helped generate millions of dollars that went back into the South Florida community and economy by building his business and with philanthropic endeavors through his community foundation. A member of the Miami Dolphins from 1980 to 1987, Stephenson was inducted into the National Football League Hall of Fame in 1998 and was the recipient of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 1985, in large part due to his outstanding community service efforts. In 1999, he was ranked number 84 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.

Stephenson has always served as a mentor in the community, believing in education and the importance of providing the necessary tools for children in need to learn. With that in mind, he created Dwight's Computers for Kids Program to ensure that thousands of children from low-income families in South Florida have a computer to assist in their education. Stephenson joined a distinguished list when he was selected as the 2005 Walter Camp Foundation Man of the Year. The award honors an individual who has been closely associated with the game of football as a player, coach, or close attendant to the game.

In 2007, Dwight and his wife Dinah co-founded the Dwight Stephenson Foundation, whose mission is to bring together the sports and business communities in an effort to generate increased funding for charities that provide educational, health, and human services to support the needs of children and families. Organizations served by the foundation include:
  • American Diabetes Association
  • Association for Better Child Care Development and Education
  • Boys and Girls Club of Broward County
  • Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Florida
  • United Cerebral Palsy
  • Urban League of Broward County
Stephenson's company, D. Stephenson Construction, has been a part of the Broward County landscape for more than 20 years and has expanded into Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties as well, creating many job opportunities in the tri-county area. The ex-professional football player turned entrepreneur is grateful for the opportunities he has been given and says his business is growing and providing employment opportunities for others. "We want to grow our company, give people opportunities," Stephenson said. "They have the opportunity to work for an organization that has possibilities. That’s something I’m trying to achieve."

​​Our Partners & Sponsors

DELRAY READS DAY

About the Campaign
Participating Schools
Event Details

What our volunteers say

"It was a tender morning of sharing trust, caring and mutual respect. I hope the children enjoyed as much as I did. They were adorable, so alert, and their minds were like sponges. This was a wonderful opportunity for all of us."
"The Delray Reads Day event was one of the most well organized and enjoyable events I've ever attended. The breakfast was not only good, but they had motivational speakers to prepare us to read to the children, and all were exceptional."