September 8th marked the third annual Brooke Jackman Foundation Read-a-thon, and we once again gathered at the World Financial Center to commemorate 9/11 and to celebrate the 11th anniversary of BJF.  

 

This year, we had one of the best line-ups yet! Rosie Perez, the native New Yorker who can be seen next in the upcoming film Won't Back Down, enchanted the children as she read from one of BJF's favorite books, Llama Llama Red Pajama. No strangers to the stage themselves, company members from Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark read a few books before swinging back up to their Midtown theater for their weekend matinee. Repeat Read-a-thon performers Izzy and Sophie of Care Bears on Fire debuted an unreleased song, "Brush and Pen," after their readings.

 

Also on-hand to help entertain the kids this year were spoken word artists from Urban Word, Reading Rainbow creator Twila Liggett, FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano, Deputy Director of the Family Justice Center Amairis Pena-Chavez and some of NYC's bravest.

 

This year's Read-a-thon was also the world premiere of ABC, My Family & Me: An Alphabet Book by the Kids of the Brooke Jackman Foundation--a collection of short stories and illustrations from the children in our literacy programs around the city. The children who helped us bring this book to life were in the audience at the Read-a-thon and absolutely ecstatic to hear their stories read to a packed house.

 

Thank you to everyone who attended this year's Brooke Jackman Foundation Read-a-thon-we look forward to seeing you there again next year!

 

To view photos from the Read-a-thon and to stay updated on all things BJF-related, make sure to check out our brand new website - http://brookejackmanfoundation.org/!