Music Compound is committed to educating all year long, including when school is out for the summer. Each year on June 1, Music Compound launches the Rock Your Summer Reading initiative. All participants who read 50 books or more are eligible to be entered into the grand prize drawing for a party for up to 20 people at Music Compound’s “Studio 32”; local student Violet White was recently announced as the grand prize winner.
The young reader will enjoy a party featuring karaoke, pizza, a bounce house donated by Let’s Jump Rentals, and sweet treats donated by Crumbl Cookie ($600 total value).
White, 10, is in fourth grade. She is homeschooled and attends Mangrove School of Sarasota’s homeschool enrichment program three days each week. White and her 6-year-old brother, Camden, both participated in Rock Your Summer Reading and both broke the 50-book mark.
For this year’s effort, Music Compound again partnered with area businesses to provide special treats, one-of-a-kind experiences, and cool items as prizes; area youth receive prizes for every five books they read. As the number of books a child reads increases, the value of prizes he or she can earn grows.
The initiative has grown tremendously since it launched it in 2020. Last year, nearly 80 children participated, logging more than 1,700 total books, and 27 children qualified for the grand prize drawing by reading at least 50 books; this year, 86 students participated, a total of 3,400 books were read, and 43 children qualified for the grand prize drawing.
“We have been immensely gratified to see the growth of this program since its launch three years ago, and thrilled at its success in motivating kids to read when they’re out of school,” says Townsend. “We are grateful to our business partners, who have been so generous in providing prizes; our hope is that the participating families have been introduced to new products or experiences that they will choose to continue to enjoy in the future.”
While the children enjoy the reading and the prizes, parents also enjoy knowing that their kids are benefiting from the activity as well.
“Rock Your Summer Reading was such a great motivator to keep my kids reading this summer – I’m thankful that Music Compound offers such a wonderful program,” said proud mom Jessica White. “Most days, I didn’t have to suggest they read – they’d wake up, check their reading charts to see how many more books they had to read to get to their next prize, pick a book and start reading. We visited the library almost every week to pick new books. We will definitely participate again next year!”
This program is open to all area children. There is a Rock Your Summer Reading Facebook group in addition to a page devoted to the program on Music Compound’s website. For more information, contact Music Compound: [email protected] or 941-379-9100.
