SPRINGFIELD -- The basketballs and volleyballs at the Clarence E. Morgan Complex gymnasium will be replaced by books during a special event this fall.
United Way of the Coastal Empire-Effingham is set to host a literacy event at the facility Oct. 17 at 9:30 a.m. It will feature a well-known former football standout.
“It is official,” United Way Area Director Kim Dennis said Aug. 9 at the United Way Service Center in Rincon. “We have a signed contract. We are partnering with Malcolm Mitchell’s Share the Magic Foundation.”
Mitchell, a 30-year-old Valdosta native and former Georgia Bulldogs receiver, has been a staunch literacy advocate since retiring from the NFL’s New England Patriots in 2018.
“Every second grader in Effingham County is going to be transported to the gym,” Dennis said. “Malcolm will be there. It’s a pep rally-style event.”
The United Way needs sponsors for the event. Call Dennis at 912-826-5897 if you, your business, your club or your church is interested.
“We see (early childhood) reading as one of the keys to upward mobility (and workforce development),” Dennis said.
Mitchell’s reading skills were at a middle-school level when he arrived at the University of Georgia in 2011. Still, he developed a love for reading and writing while there.
In 2016, he released his first publication, The Magician’s Hat. The children’s picture book features a magician who knows that books allow readers to explore dreams and develop creativity.
All rally participants will receive a copy of Mitchell's book.
“(Mitchell) brings in a real magician who does tricks and things like that but the event is really about getting kids excited and see someone who has been through a similar situation,” Dennis said. “He said when he got to college he was reading at like a sixth- or seventh-grade level. He said football got him into college but then, once he got there, he really took advantage of the opportunity and wanted to provide opportunities for children.”
Mitchell has more pride in his reading accomplishments than his football exploits. When he left Georgia, he ranked third on the school’s receptions list with 174 for 2,350 yards and 16 touchdowns.
A knee injury cut his NFL career short but he shined multiple times after getting selected by New England in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He caught six passes for 70 yards in the Patriots’ 34-28 overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI.
“I think it’s incredible and we are super excited about doing this,” Dennis said. “I think it’s going to be a core memory moment for a lot of kids that they get to meet this NFL player who tells them, ‘I had a hard time reading. If I can do it, you can do it’.”
