Rutgers–Camden reads for a world record October 12, 2009
Click here to see pictures of the Event

The world’s hungriest and most famous caterpillar crawled through preschool classrooms in Camden, NJ on October 8 as Rutgers–Camden joined an international effort that attempted to read to one million children in a single day.

Jumpstart’s ‘Read for the Record’ campaign sought to become the largest shared reading experience ever recorded as volunteers read Eric Carl’s classic children’s story “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” to preschoolers in Camden and around the world. 

At Rutgers–Camden, 65 volunteers — including Rutgers students, professors, parents, and community leaders — read to over 200 children in the Rutgers preschool at LEAP Academy and in Respond preschool classrooms across Camden City as part of a global effort to exceed Jumpstart’s own world record of 700,000, set in 2008.  

“It was a very inspiring event, I thought it was a great idea,” said Roger Clark, a professor at Rutgers Law School–Camden who read to a class of 15 students.  “I have children and grandchildren and I know how important reading is.  It’s good for children to have role models who think reading is important.”  

During the weeks leading up to the October 8 event, calls and E-mails went out to the Rutgers community asking for volunteers to read.  The response was so large that the original 9:30-10:00am reading time was expanded an additional hour and readers were divided into three, half-hour groups. 

“The campus response was overwhelming,” said Katie Mills, site manager for Rutgers Jumpstart.  “It’s great to see how many people at Rutgers and in the community care about early childhood literacy in Camden.” 

Among the dozens of volunteers who read at the event, 34 hailed from Rutgers, including 10 professors, 11 staff and administrators, and 13 students.  Thanh Huynh, a senior in the School of Business and President of the Accounting Society at Rutgers–Camden, rallied several members of her organization to read with Jumpstart. 

“I thought it was a great opportunity for the Accounting Society to give back to the community,” said Huynh, whose organization offers supplementary knowledge in accounting to interested students.  “The children were very excited and interested and the stories enhanced their imagination and creativity.  We had an outstanding time.” 

The international Read for the Record campaign was created in 2006 in order to draw awareness to the importance of early literacy and the existing school readiness crisis for urban youth.  Rutgers–Camden is the first university in New Jersey to partner with Jumpstart, whose national network of 70 colleges and universities places college students into urban preschool classrooms to build children’s literacy, writing, and social skills. 

“It’s fantastic to see the Rutgers community volunteer time to participate in such an important event,” said Dr. Gloria Bonilla-Santiago, a Distinguished Service Professor of Public Administration at Rutgers–Camden and Director of the Center for Strategic Urban Community Leadership (CSUCL), which supervises Rutgers Jumpstart. 

“Reading to children is so critical to early literacy, especially for urban youth.  Today, Rutgers and Jumpstart have not only shared the joy of reading with young students but have proven that together we can change lives and prepare our children for future success.”

Center for Strategic Urban Community Leadership   321 Cooper Street, Camden, NJ 08102   Phone:. 856-225-6348   Fax: 856-225-6500