PC READS, a dyslexia awareness nonprofit, will start a unique summer-reading program that won’t put a lot of focus on books.

PC READS Together, which will run from June 22 through July 31 on Facebook, will emphasize how reading skills are used in everyday life, said Executive Director Elissa Aten.

“For example, the first reading challenge is called ‘Don’t Be Bored,’ and although it’s spelled b-o-r-e-d, the idea is for the family to sit together and read instructions to a board game and then play the game,” Aten said.

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Other challenges, which will be posted on Mondays, involve reading recipes and cooking together, or reading a menu and ordering food, she said.

When we first started our work, the word dyslexia was not really used by educators in the Park City School District…” Elissa Aten, PC READS executive director

“To participate in the challenge, we encourage people to like our Facebook page,” Aten said. “Once they complete a challenge, they can post a photo of what they did, and they will be automatically entered in a weekly opportunity drawing.”

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Aten encourages families to visit the PC READS website and download a worksheet that lists 10 reading challenges.

At the end of the program, families who have completed at least eight of those challenges and have returned the worksheet by Aug. 15 will be eligible for a grand-prize opportunity drawing for a five gift-card package worth $200, she said.

“We, like so many nonprofits, are thankful to local businesses who have supported us in our fundraising efforts, so this time, although our budget is small, we are purchasing gift cards from these businesses, including bookstores, toy stores and restaurants for the prizes,” Aten said.

Aten and her PC READS staff put together the reading program once COVID-19 shut down their events for the year, she said.

“We had often tossed around the idea of a summer reading program, and we had the time to plan for one this year,” she said. “We’re fortunate to have an active and creative programming committee, and we brainstormed through a few meetings on Zoom until we came up with these challenges.”

PC READS was founded in 2014, and became a nonprofit in 2015 with the goal of advocating for students who struggle with reading.

“I think we have succeeded in raising awareness of dyslexia, and what it looks like in a classroom,” Aten said. “When we first started our work, the word dyslexia was not really used by educators in the Park City School District. So for us to help define something and put a name to it was helpful in ensuring students could get the support they needed to where we now have educators reaching out to us for more instruction.”