Community Corner
Meet this Week’s Whiz Kid: Luke Gordon
You might see him with his nose in a book; he's promised to read 150 books for the Read to Feed Program this summer.
Name: Luke Gordon
Age: 6
School: Just completed first grade at Field Elementary School
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Achievement: Last summer, Luke set a hefty goal for himself: read 100 books for his Sunday School’s Read to Feed Program. This summer, he’s ratcheted up his goal to 150 books. After all, it’s for a good cause.
Key to Awesomeness: In order to reach his goal of reading 150 books this summer, Luke knows he has to pace himself. In fact, he and his mom, Jennifer Gordon, have already figured out that he’ll have to read exactly 2.3 books per day. Luke doesn’t seem too worried by the daunting task.
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“I already read 25 books,” he says.
Some of his favorites are Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss and the Dragonbreath series by Ursula Vernon.
Last summer was the first time Luke’s Sunday School, at Elmhurst Presbyterian Church, introduced the Read to Feed Program, a reading incentive program for children designed to raise money for Heifer International. For each book a child reads, a sponsor pledges to donate money towards the organization, which helps families all over the world gain self-reliance through gifts of livestock and training.
Sue McCurdy, coordinator of Children’s Ministry at Elmhurst Presbyterian, said Luke, who had just finished kindergarten, was one of 15 children who participated in the program last summer.
“He had set the goal of 100 books beforehand,” McCurdy says. “Whenever he would come in with his reading log, he was very, very proud.”
The 15 participating readers and 19 congregation members who sponsored the Read to Feed Program last year helped raise more than $2,800.
“The children read 649 books, which was way more than anybody thought,” McCurdy says.
McCurdy used Luke’s reading goal as an example to encourage the other children in some friendly competition.
“He really led the way,” she says. “We’d say, ‘Luke’s goal is 100, so let’s see how many you all can read.’ ”
“We hope we’re teaching a life of service that begins when they’re very young and that they’re not too young to make a difference.”
