What a ride! On Thursday, August 13, more than 400 LINC families from across all five boroughs came together for LINC’s 12th annual Reading on the Rails, a citywide literacy adventure that turned public transit and Central Park into spaces for reading, discovery, and connection.
From early-morning subway and ferry rides to a picnic in Central Park, families spent the day discovering just how much learning can happen along the way. All families received “bear” bags filled with parent tips, a book, literacy activity sheets, chalk, and branded bucket hats at the start of their journey.
We were thrilled to welcome beloved children’s author and longtime LINC friend Tish Rabe, who shared a special read-aloud from her new book, Central Park, You Can See Why It’s the Best Place to Be, and generously donated signed copies to participating LINC families. Families filled the stage in the Central Park Bandshell reading and singing along with Tish, a trained opera singer, and it was absolutely magical.
For the grand finale of this year’s literacy adventure, families set out on a scavenger hunt to the Bow Bridge, the Hans Christian Andersen Statue, and the Alice in Wonderland Statue, where they were awarded iconic NYC pins to decorate their bucket hats.
A huge thank you to our LINC families for bringing your energy, curiosity, and love of reading; to our incredible staff and volunteers for making every part of the day possible, to Iovino for their generous sponsorship; and to our community partners at the Speakeasy Bookmobile and NYCPS FACE team who also distributed free books.
Yesterday’s Reading on the Rails was brilliant. It brought together everything that makes LINC so impactful and unique: the strength of our program, the authenticity of our family engagement, the trust we have built in our communities, and our powerful partnerships with families, NYCPS FACE, elected officials, board members, sponsors, authors, and donors.–Shari Levine, Executive Director, Literacy in Community (LINC)
Together, we’re helping make literacy a part of everyday life: on the subway, in the park, and everywhere in between. As you can see, Central Park is a great place to read. Register for a LINC program at: www.lincnyc.org/programs.
