Media Alert
For Immediate Release: March 7, 2022
CARSON SCHOLARS FUND, INC.
Contact: Tammy Blazenyak, Director of Reading Rooms
Phone: 443-255-0957 ▪ Fax: 410-828-1007
Day of event: 727-893-2120 Jessley Hathaway Seventy-Fourth Street Elementary School Principal
Phone: 423-504-5636
First Ben Carson Reading Room to Open in Pinellas County Schools
St. Petersburg, FL – Through the generosity of the Laube Family Foundation, the Carson Scholars Fund (CSF) is pleased to announce the opening of the first Ben Carson Reading Room in Pinellas County Schools at Seventy-Fourth Street Elementary. On Friday, March 11 at 10:00 a.m., Seventy-Fourth Street Elementary School, located at 3801 74th Street North in St. Petersburg, will host an opening day ceremony and ribbon cutting.
The Ben Carson Reading Project is an initiative of the Carson Scholars Fund, founded by retired world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon and New York Times bestselling authors Dr. Ben Carson and his wife, Candy. The purpose of the Ben Carson Reading Project is to create a literacy-enriched environment for children to enhance their reading skills. The reading project is dedicated to promoting reading as a key to unlocking a child’s full potential.
The Seventy-Fourth Street Elementary reading room is sponsored by the Laube Family Foundation in honor of international businessman, William Tell Laube III. This “Reach for the Stars” themed reading room features an impressive collection of over 500 high-interest children’s books.
“The Laube Family Foundation is proud to partner with the Carson Scholars Fund, who share our values on the importance of childhood education. It is my hope that the Reading Room at Seventy-Fourth Street Elementary School will be a special space where children can explore the world through books. This investment in their imaginations now will fuel their creativity and ingenuity to advance our society in the future,” said Miko Kepko, Laube Family Foundation representative and daughter of William Tell Laube III.
Since the program’s inception in 2000, 251 reading rooms have been established, with 31 reading room locations serving students in the state of Florida.
The Carson Scholars Fund (CSF) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 1994 by retired, world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin Carson and his wife, Candy. The CSF is dedicated to combating illiteracy and promoting leisure reading as a key to unlocking a child’s full potential.