BRADENTON, Fla. — Ten management-level staff members with the Manatee County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller recently participated as mentors in the Dive Into Reading program created by the Anna Maria Oyster Bar.
The 2018 program served 370 children, who collectively read 14,540 books – an average of 39.3 books per child. About 260 volunteers participated to help serve all Manatee elementary schools.
For about an hour and a half over the course of 4-6 weeks in June, the volunteers tutored potentially at-risk children to further develop their reading skills. The Dive into Reading summer program aims to improve children’s reading levels by combating the summer slide and continue a student’s education over summer break.
This year, one of the locations was the South Florida Museum – a few blocks from the courthouse. At this location, 57 children were served and read 1,930 books.
“We had such a rewarding experience spending time with these children,” said Angel Colonneso, the Manatee County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller. “Since it’s so close to us, I wanted to offer up this volunteer opportunity to our management team. We thoroughly enjoyed our time helping this much-needed reading program, and I hope the children benefited from it as much as we did.”
Started in summer 2017, the restaurant invited rising third graders from local schools to eat breakfast and practice reading. Since then, the program has grown with support from the community.
About the Manatee County Clerk of Court
The Florida Constitution established the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller as a public trustee, independently elected to protect public funds and public records while executing the functions of Clerk of the Circuit Court, County Comptroller, Treasurer and Auditor, Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners and County Recorder. The Clerk oversees a staff of more than 275 people, responsible for performing nearly 1,000 constitutional or statutory functions or duties, representing the broadest and most diverse mantle of responsibility of any locally elected official. The citizens of Manatee County elect the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller to a four-year term. Currently, Angelina M. Colonneso serves as the Clerk of the Court. For more information, call 941-749-1800 or visit www.ManateeClerk.com.