THOMASVILLE, Ga. — Students from Harper and Scott Elementary were in for a treat on Tuesday when they attended a Reading Rally featuring Valdosta native and former Super Bowl champion Malcolm Mitchell.
Mitchell was raised in Valdosta, where he played football and was named to the Under Armour All-American team his senior year. He went on to play for the University of Georgia, finishing as a top 10 all-time receiver.
However, Mitchell’s real achievements happened off the field.
During his time at UGA, Mitchell was recognized as the national captain of the All-State Good Works Team for his frequent visits to elementary schools to read to students and discuss literacy.
He received the National Higher Achievement Award for his success beyond athletics. Mitchell’s love for literacy led him to receive a degree in communications in 2015 from UGA.
In 2015, he authored his first children’s book, “The Magician’s Hat,” through a youth literacy initiative known as Read with Malcolm.
In 2016, Mitchell established the Share the Magic Foundation, whose sole purpose was to transform children’s lives through literacy. The foundation is responsible for events like the Reading Rally, which was made possible through donations by local businesses and a matching grant from the Share the Magic Foundation, along with a Literacy Matters Grant from Congressman Sanford Bishop and Thomas County Family Connections.
During the event, children received copies of Mitchell’s book, “My Very Favorite Book in the Whole Wide World.” Additionally, children were able to understand the importance of reading, while interacting with a magician, who needed his instructions to perform tricks for the children.
Mitchell began the fun-filled morning by having children stand up and partake in his “warm-up routine” that he completed before every football game, allowing them to get all their wiggles out before the interactive experience.
Mitchell told the students that growing up he loved to play football more than anything. But during his time playing his favorite sport, he said he learned a very important lesson.
“I learned that if I wanted to grow up and be the best I could be and accomplish my goals, even as an athlete, I needed to read,” he said. “I’m here today to encourage all of you to be the best readers you can be so you can grow up and accomplish your goals that you want to accomplish.”
Mitchell said that even though he knew reading was important and the key to success, he was afraid of books.
“I thought some words were too big; I thought some sentences were too long and I thought some books had too many pages,” he said. “I learned though that if I practiced reading as much as I practiced football, it would get easier and easier.”
Realizing that reading could be fun and get easier, was magical to Mitchell.
“I learned that reading and books could take you anywhere to do anything,” he said. “So any time I travel and talk about reading I bring a little magic with me.”
Mitchell then introduced a magician, who interacted with the kids through a variety of tricks, requiring reading the instructions to make the tricks work.
His magic book started blank before students threw imaginary markers at it to turn the pages full of colorful drawings.
Students were stunned to see the amazing transformation of a book that could be found at a local bookstore and the endless possibilities that one story could have.
Mitchell also read “My Very Favorite Book in the Whole Wide World,” which is based loosely on his childhood experience.
Mitchell said he is thankful for the community donations that helped ensure each child at the event received a book.
“We can yell read all we want, but if we don’t give them materials to read at home how can we expect them to engage?” he questioned. “Today, we were able to address that, so I’m thankful for the community support.”
Mitchell explained that with the community backing, he was able to bring the importance of reading to children of all backgrounds and cultures.
Director of Federal Programs for Thomasville City Schools Nathan Espy thanked Mitchell for holding the event.
“We wanted to create a memory for our kids and I’m thankful we got to do that today,” Espy said. “The kids were totally engaged and responded well to Malcolm and his team.”