SJSU News Archive
Date: 09/16/2008
CommUniverCity San José has received $12,500 from Comcast Cable, a portion of which will support a McKinley Elementary School literacy project involving The Jester & Pharley Phund. The fund draws its inspiration from children's author David Salzman, who died at 22 of Hodgkin's disease, but not before he wrote and published "The Jester Has Lost His Jingle." With the book, Salzman sought "to get his message of hope, love, laughter and charity to children around the world who needed to find their smiles." His mother, Barbara Salzman, runs the fund's literacy program.
McKinley will kick off the project with a series of school assemblies Friday, September 19. Saltzman will read her son's book to the children and announce how the program will work. Each student will be asked to read a certain number of pages over a one-month period, and if all students meet their goals, Comcast will supply books to a local homeless shelter. The program's goal is to get the students excited about not just literacy, but community involvement as well.
CommUniverCity San José brings together the city of San José, San José State and the communities of Five Wounds/Brookwood Terrace through service and learning. McKinley is within CommUniverCity's service area, which is just east of San José State's campus.