Serve.gov | Let's Read. Let's Move.

Skip to main content | Skip to footer links

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

United We Serve: Let’s Read. Let’s Move. calls on all Americans to participate in combating summer reading loss and childhood obesity through volunteering and service this summer.

Our nation’s youth need guidance to help build fit bodies and strong minds. Working together, Americans can foster a generation that is less prone to disease, has higher academic achievers, and is more educated about food and its effects on health. These factors can have lasting effects on a child’s overall development and future.

In this spirit, the Corporation for National and Community Service has again implemented the summer United We Serve: Let’s Read. Let’s Move. initiative. By encouraging Americans to serve, the Corporation is addressing summer reading loss and childhood obesity by engaging youth in summer reading and physical activity, as well as providing information about healthy, affordable food.

This initiative is an Administration-wide effort led by CNCS in collaboration with First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! and four other federal agencies: U.S. Department of Education, Department of Interior, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Agriculture.

Service provides a sustained, collaborative, and simple way for individuals and organizations to meet community needs--the President’s United We Serve call to service seeks to make service a way of life for all Americans. Let’s Read. Let’s Move. provides information and support for service opportunities to help young people during the summer. It's going to take all of us working together to help our youth build fit bodies and strong minds.

Here are some ways that individuals and organizations can get involved.

Individuals can:

Find volunteer opportunities on Serve.gov to fight hunger in their community.
Read to kids or encourage them to read five books over the summer to prevent summer reading loss.
Encourage young people to take the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) challenge.
Access toolkits to create a service project or event.

Organizations can:

Learn more about summer reading loss and childhood obesity.
Organize an event that provides summer reading, physical activities, and/or access to healthy, affordable food.
Register to receive free books from one of the Let’s Read. Let’s Move. book resources.
Administer the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) challenge to the young people in the community.

We want to hear about your own Let’s Read. Let’s Move. activities! Share how you or your organization is joining in the efforts to combat childhood obesity and summer learning loss by posting your service story on our Facebook page or letting us know on Twitter using the #LRLM hashtag.

For more information, contact us at ServiceInitiative@cns.gov.

The Antidote to Summer Learning Loss? Reading and Outdoor Play

Strong Minds

Much ado has been made lately about summer learning loss—and many assume that the antidote is more school. Whether that takes the form of summer school, year-round school, or computer camp, we have come to believe that more indoor desk time is what our kids need to avoid the “summer slide.”

Posted on 8/17/2011

The Energy to Serve: AmeriCorps Volunteers Combat Summer Reading Loss and Childhood Obesity

Imagine: A mother comes to pick up her children from a summer reading program. Before leaving, her kids timidly pop into your staff meeting to deliver a bouquet of flowers and a big hug to you.

Posted on 8/4/2011

Click here to read more Let's Read. Let's Move. stories

Enter Keywords