SMU will host the fourth annual Reading for a Reason on Dallas Hall Lawn Friday, March 31. Almost 150 first-graders from the Dallas Independent School District will participate in literacy activities with SMU volunteers, according to Meghan Scott, a member of the program’s executive board.

“I am looking forward to an event where the children enjoy what they are learning, as well as the SMU volunteers engaging in literacy activities with DISD students,” Scott said in an email.

The participants will rotate stations, where volunteers will read a book and lead the students in a corresponding activity. While the children are at the event, their parents are also invited to campus to learn from professors from the Simmons School of Education about the necessity of promoting literacy at home, Scott said.

When the event concludes, students will take home two of the books used in the event, an SMU goodie bag and information about their local libraries, Scott said.

Student volunteers can receive three service hours by participating in the event and said it is a convenient opportunity to give back to the Dallas community. Volunteers can sign up here.