Justin Tuck fires up young readers
Giants defensive end Justin Tuck practices during team training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. (Aug. 2, 2013) Credit: James Escher
Justin Tuck will spend this week trying to make sure the Giants are fired up and passionate. Yesterday, though, he spent some time trying to get New York City middle schoolers fired up and passionate about reading.
Tuck launched the sixth season of his Tuck’s R.U.S.H. for Literacy campaign which encourages young students to read. The event took place yesterday at the headquarters of Scholastic publishers. Author Gordon Korman spoke to the students as well about the importance of having a mentor.
“Me growing up in a small rural town, you always know you’re going to be lacking funds to compete with the bigger schools,” Tuck said. “I always kept that in mind that if I ever got the opportunity to use this platform in New York City and my success here to make a difference in that, I definitely wanted to do that.”
Part of the program’s goal this year was to get kids reading over the summer. So the fifth through eighth grade students at the participating schools received five new books to read over the summer. The books will be integrated into the classroom this fall and students will be invited to submit essays based on their readings. This year’s essay contest invites students to reflect on the positive influence of a mentor in their life. The best essayist from each school will be invited to attend the Giants vs. Seahawks home game on Dec. 15, 2013. The program continues through the school year, as kids read and track their progress. The classroom with the highest percentage of submitted essays will win a visit from Tuck at the end of the school year.
Tuck and his wife Lauran have been very involved in the program, and have taken a hands-on approach to fostering it.
“For me, to get the opportunity to hear from parents who tell me how their kids have changed their outlook on how important their education is after being a part of our program, that’s testimony enough for me,” Tuck said. “If I was to only help one kid, that’s good enough, but fortunately for us this program has been very successful and every year we get more and more participation and more and more kids are excited about what we have to offer.”
