GEORGETOWN, Del. - Kody O'Bear is the ambassador or Kody's Kids. Founder Philip Brown says he was inspired to help young readers after struggling with reading himself. The nonprofit has been helping children of a variety of reading abilities for more than two decades now and on this Thankful Tuesday.
Kody O'Bear and his helpers reiterate reading to students like those at the Howard T. Ennis School.
"Sometimes what's being said and what's being taught doesn't stick, so you need it something to relate it to, so Kody is that object," Brown says.
That's where volunteers like Barb Shelton come in because Kody's paws are too fluffy to flip the pages.
"Anything that encourages children to read, which helps in all academic pursuits, is a good thing and it's better to start early than any other time," Shelton says.
Kody and the volunteers plan lessons to coincide with the books they read to the children. Flashcards asking them if the food pictured is a fruit or a vegetable are just one of many activities. Another lesson involves practicing counting by blowing bubbles.
"Just by the movement of bubbles and so forth, it adds excitement to it, which causes them to keep what they've learned even more," Brown says.
Kody O'Bear has held the title of Reading Ambassador at the Georgetown Library for 3 years. During his 21 years as Ambassador of the nonprofit Kody's Kids, he has seen the importance of having enough school supplies for all students.
"Supplies is needed all year round, not just in September, and that's why all the time we're collecting and we deliver," Brown says. Right now the two big ones that we work with are the Howard T. Ennis School and Sussex Consortium."
Kody also delivers messages in an online show, where he talks about his hometown Applewood Forest. That's where he learned and strengthened the reading skills he now uses to advance young students to a reading level to be thankful for on this Thankful Tuesday.