In honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday on March 2, Orange County United Way celebrated Read Across America Day with elementary schools in Garden Grove and Santa Ana to promote early literacy and learning.

More than 70 volunteers read their favorite childhood stories aloud to local students. From “The Cat in the Hat” to “Green Eggs and Ham,” the fun-filled day was centered around the importance of reading.

When children can read, they imagine more richly, develop more vocabulary and engage in critical thinking. These skills are the bridge to success in school, work and life.

Thank you to the volunteers from our corporate partners Amway-Nutrilite, Assurant, Auto Club of Southern California, Eaton Aerospace, Grant Thornton LLP, Johnson & Johnson, L3 Technologies, Mastec Network Solutions, Meguiar’s | 3M, Polo Ralph Lauren, Principal, Snell & Wilmer and U.S. Bank for participating in Read Across America Day with the students from Louis G. Zeyen Elementary in Garden Grove, George Washington Carver Elementary in Santa Ana and Lincoln Elementary in Santa Ana.

Orange County United Way is helping prepare our next generation to live happy, healthy, productive lives through early grade reading and literacy programs. It’s one of the most important steps in meeting United Way’s FACE 2024 education goal: to cut the high school dropout rate in half by 2024.

See more photos of this event.