United Through Reading and Military Families Magazine partner for #ReadfortheRecord

This year United Through Reading and Military Families Magazine partnered together for the 15th annual Read for the Record. Both United Through Reading and Military Families Magazine are committed to helping military families stay connected even when they are separated because of deployments or training.

This year’s Read for the Record book was “Evelyn Del Rey is Moving Away.” The story tells of a young girl who is saying goodbye to her best friend, Evelyn, who is moving away. As Evelyn’s house is emptied from the boxes and furniture, the girls continue to play their favorite games until it is time to say goodbye.

“This story made my heart hurt for my little girl who has had to say goodbye to her friends so many times,” said Lt. Lauren Gonzales of the United States Coast Guard, one of the readers in the video.

“But it also is a great resource to have for her as we prepare for another move this summer. It’s a sweet book,” she said.

Read for the Record is a global early literacy campaign that brings together adults and children around the world to read the same book on the same day. It is sponsored by Jumpstart, an organization dedicated to the development and education of children before they enter kindergarten. They provide language, literacy and social-emotional resources for underprovided communities around the country.

The Read for the Record campaign happens every fall. It is meant to increase awareness of the importance of early literacy and make high-quality children’s books accessible to all children.

United Through Reading has similar goals — to provide high-quality books for military service members to read to their children even when they can’t be home.

“United Through Reading has long participated in Jumpstart’s Read for the Record. We were so excited this year that their selection Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away is perfect for military kids who know first hand what it’s like to move away from their best friends, and we are proud to have sent it around the world for military families to read together with our free mobile app,” Dr. Sally Ann Zoll, CEO of United Through Reading said in a statement via email.

United Through Reading gave away more than 1,000 copies of “Evelyn Del Rey is Moving Away” at select Army MWR libraries, at recording events around the country and to United Through Reading App users through their book order form.

This year, in partnership with Military Families Magazine, United Through Reading created a video to highlight 2020’s Read for the Record book, “Evelyn Del Rey is Moving Away.” The video was shot aboard the USCGC Ingham in Key West, Florida near NAS Key West.

All branches of the military were represented in this video, with service members from the Marine Corps, the Navy, the Army, the Air Force, the Space Force and the Coast Guard reading.

Watch the video below to listen to “Evelyn Del Rey is Moving Away” with these amazing service members. You can also download the UTR app to read more stories like this one to the special military kids in your life.