Such was the scene at Westerly Hills Elementary School on Thursday, January 13, as the Bobcats hosted a Read To Achieve Reading Timeout. The event, conducted by Bobcats players Keith Bogans and Jahidi White, helped the students learn about the impact that one man, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., has had on our nation.

The event began with an introduction by WB on-air personality India Lucas and then the time was turned over to Bogans and White to share a special book with the children. The third, fourth, and fifth graders in attendance gave the two players their undivided attention as they read to them “Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.” by Doreen Rappaport.

“This was a big event,” said Bogans of the Reading Timeout. “Any time you get to come out and read to kids, especially today when we get to read about Martin Luther King, Jr., it’s a good thing.”

As Bogans and White related the story of Dr. King, the students heard about his childhood, in which signs proclaiming ‘Whites Only’ dotted local businesses. They learned how this experience shaped Dr. King’s future as he became an ordained minister at Ebenezer Baptist Church and began a life-long pursuit of securing equal rights for all.

The students were also able to gain an understanding of how Dr. King worked to achieve equality by using peaceful resistance methods such as the Montgomery bus strike, which began when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus.

“I think this was very important for the kids at our school,” said Westerly Hills principal Wray Canady “Any time you can have positive role models come to your school, it’s a very positive thing. What these guys shared today aligns with what our teachers are trying to teach every day.”

Besides teaching the students about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the values he embodied, the Reading Timeout also gave the players the opportunity to share with the students the importance of reading.

Jahidi White taught this principle by applying reading to his own life and profession.

“Reading is an important part of playing basketball,” he said. “I have to be able to read the playbook to know what to do on the court.

“Reading also helps in your everyday life,” he continued. “I couldn’t have gotten to the school today if I hadn’t been able to read the directions.”

The students at Westerly Hills Elementary were definitely glad that White and his teammate Keith Bogans had been able to locate the school.

“This was very cool,” exclaimed a group of Westerly Hills students who were all smiles following the Reading Timeout.

In addition to having a good time, the students also seemed to take to heart some of the messages that had been delivered.

“We learned that we should always read,” they said when asked what was one of the things they had learned from the Bobcats’ visit.

Helping children develop this understanding of the importance of reading is a key component of the team’s community outreach efforts. The Bobcats are always striving to help young people develop a life-long love of reading and are continually encouraging children and families to read together. To do this, the Bobcats have developed an extensive Read To Achieve program that includes a variety of reading programs, special events and book drives throughout the community.

One of the key components of the Bobcats Read To Achieve program is the use of Reading Timeouts such as the one that was conducted at Westerly Hills Elementary. At each Reading Timeout, Bobcats players, staff, local celebrities and media personalities teach important life lessons by sharing their favorite stories. Since this program was established, over 2,700 children throughout the Carolina region have had the opportunity to participate in Reading Timeouts.

Jahidi White perhaps described the importance of doing community events like Reading Timeouts the best when he said, “Doing events in the community is important because as players we are able to have a great impact on kids. We want the kids to be the best they can be. If there weren’t people who helped us along the way, there’s no telling where we’d be. We want to do that for these kids and hopefully they will be able to turn around and help others later in life.”