Cochise College rodeo team member Stormi Olaiz will be the VIP guest reader Nov. 19 at the Books on Bases event on Fort Huachuca.
The Books on Bases program is presented by the national non-profit organization Blue Star Families. The program’s goal is to create a positive impact and emphasize the importance of literacy to military families through book donations.
Cochise College rodeo team member Stormi Olaiz reads the book "H is for Honor" to Johnston Elementary School student Olivia Dedham. Olaiz is the Guest Reader at the Nov. 19 Books on Bases event.
Olaiz, a Phoenix native who stars for the Apache rodeo team in barrel racing and breakaway roping events, will be reading the children’s alphabet book “H is for Honor.” The event begins at 10 a.m. at Murr Community Center on post and Olaiz will begin reading right after introductions.
According to Beth Bellizzi, who is organizing the event along with Erin Whitehead, children who come dressed in Western attire will be entered to win a special gift. Following the reading, children will be invited to participate in various literacy crafts and activities in the community center.
Each of the five athletic teams at Cochise College prides itself on community service it provides throughout the year, mostly at local schools and events that involve motivating children. Olaiz, a freshman agriculture major, was asked by Cochise rodeo coach Kelly Slover if she’d be interested in participating, and she didn’t hesitate to accept.
“I love being on the Cochise rodeo team and I am excited to represent the team and school in such a positive way,” she said. “I like being around kids and I hope I can be someone they look up to after this event.”
All active-duty military children who are in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade are invited to attend, but must register by calling (520) 533-0874 or emailing FtHuachucaBOB@gmail.com. The names of all attendees per family, an email address, the number of children attending, and the sponsor’s unit must be provided when registering.
The Books on Bases Fort Huachuca initiative, which is co-sponsored by the Fort Huachuca CYS and MWR. Blue Star Families is a national, non-profit network of military families from all ranks and services, including guard and reserve, with a mission to support, connect and empower military families.
According to the national literacy research organization Reach Out and Read, Whitehead said, military children are similar to children of low income or broken families in terms of being at risk of lower reading levels as a direct result of their parents’ periodic deployments, long separations and frequent school changes.
“Given the constant cycle of deployments, military children are asked to make do with less,” Whitehead said. “While that may work with some thing — such as more responsibilities around the house and less free time — it simply doesn’t work when it comes to literacy.”
The Books on Bases event will go for an hour, and every family that attends with a child between the ages of pre-K and fifth grade will receive a gift bag of books and various reading resources.