Coaching readers: NIC Volleyball, Parker Toyota bring back Shirley Parker Reading Program
North Idaho College’s volleyball team and Parker Toyota distributed more than 19,000 books to local first-graders in the Shirley Parker Reading Program this spring.
Coaches and athletes from the NIC volleyball team spent time in first-grade classrooms in Coeur d’Alene School District sharing a love of reading. Each young reader receives a book and is asked to read it to someone in the long-standing community outreach program.
The Shirley Parker Reading Program was established in 2002 by Parker Toyota in partnership with the NIC Wrestling Program in honor of Shirley Parker, an avid reader and a big NIC Wrestling supporter.
The program was stalled during COVID-19 shutdowns, but NIC’s volleyball team picked the tradition back up this year. NIC Softball athletes and NIC Athletic Trainer Randy Boswell also participated in this year’s program.
“We wanted to bring back the Shirley Parker Reading Program now that we can visit public schools again,” NIC Volleyball Coach Kelsey Stanley said. “My team and I would go help read in years past, and it was so fun to see how excited those first-graders got when our athletes walked in. It's a great opportunity for my team to give back and support our next generation.”
For more information, contact NIC Athletics Coordinator Felicia Andrade at (208) 929-4013 or felicia.andrade@nic.edu.
Posted: Wednesday, May 18, 2022
