On Tuesday, September 16, 2014 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., the students of McKinley Elementary School will each receive books donated by Kawann Short of the Carolina Panthers. The event will be held in partnership with Athletes for Charity, Communities in Schools, and the East Chicago Police and Fire Departments. Each partner will send a representative to speak with the students regarding the importance of reading and help deliver brand new reading books to each of the students.
“I teamed up with Athletes for Charity to explore different ways to benefit the kids of my hometown and one of the options we came up with was focusing on education and youth literacy,” Short said. “We decided to partner with local organizations such as CIS, Police and Fire, to help make a difference in the community this year.”
Purdue alumni and NBA player, E’Twuan Moore, who is also a native of East Chicago, has been invited to drop in and surprise the students at McKinley Elementary in the absence of Kawann Short. Short is not able to appear tomorrow, as he is occupied with helping his team win games at this time. A drawing and essay contest will be held at McKinley Elementary to enable the students to win gift cards courtesy of Strack & Van Til Food Market in East Chicago, and autographed footballs, mini helmets and team photos signed by Kawann Short.
"McKinley Elementary is excited and proud to partner with Kawann Short as he generously provides so many wonderful books to our students,” said David Alvarado, Principal of McKinley Elementary School in East Chicago. “We know that developing a love for reading will help our students go far, and are thankful that Kawann is making an effort to instill that love in the children of our community".
EC Police Officers and Fire Fighters will visit each of the Pre Kindergarten and Kindergarten classrooms and will participate in grade level assemblies with 1st through 5th grade throughout the day.
“It is our pleasure to team up with KK to help motivate and encourage the youth of his own community of East Chicago to read more and excel academically,” stated Mark Becker, Chief of the East Chicago Police Department. “We are so proud of KK and his spirit of giving back and look forward to many years of continued collaboration.”
ABOUT KAWANN SHORT
Kawann “KK” Short was born and raised in East Chicago and attended local public schools in the City. He played both football and basketball at Central High School and went on to pursue his education at Purdue University, where he majored in Technology Leadership & Innovation. As a Boilermaker, Short was a first-team All-Big Ten Conference selection in 2011 and 2012, and received second-team All-American honors from the Associated Press in 2012.
Short was drafted by the Panthers in the 2nd round of the 2013 NFL Draft. During his rookie year, Short played in all 16 regular season games. He recorded 30 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1.5 sacks, and tied for second on the team with 21 quarterback pressures.
Short has recently launched a Youth Literacy Project to deliver books and academic incentives to children in need of encouragement when it comes to reading and academic achievement. Short has partnered with Athletes for Charity, Communities in Schools of East Chicago, HealthLinc and the East Chicago Fire and Police Departments to create academic incentives to benefit the youth of East Chicago, IN.