Local students read to Trenton nursing home residents, virtually

Walking down the hall of Bradford Elementary, you can see a few familiar characters because today they are celebrating 'Read Across America' and they’re celebrating with a few guests.

Residents at the Trenton health and rehabilitation center are still waiting for the day they can connect with family for outside visits.

“We had a nursing home in Trenton that took time out of their schedule to get online with us today through zoom," says Nichi Hickerson, reading specialist at Bradford Elementary School.

But in the mean time some students wanted to let them join in on their 'Read Across America' day, virtually.

“It was really fun to see and ask the questions and read to them," says 3rd grade student, Danilynn Warmath.

Danilynn is a 3rd grader that loves to read magic tree house books.

She says that reading now will pay off once she gets older, “It’s good to read because whenever you read, you can learn stuff whenever you read. So, whenever you get old you can learn stuff, whenever you read".

Bradford Elementary celebrates 'Read Across America' day every year by dressing up, decorating, and having community members read to students. They wanted to change it up this year to give back to their community.

“We were just thrilled to see them and we just hope that it just brought a little bit of joy to them. We know they haven’t had much time to engage with the community and with children. We hope we brought a smile to their face, just being able to interact with them," adds Hickerson.