For one day, 19-year-old Luis had a chance to see into his past, but it wasn’t a passive glimpse. On March 2, the graduate from Avalon Continuation High School in Wilmington came back to his elementary school and donned a red-and-white stripped hat in honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday.
He was there to be involved in the lives of students whose experiences he’d shared. He was there to read a book—just one Dr. Seuss book.
Luis and 21 current Avalon students went to Hawaiian Avenue Elementary School as part of ShareFest’s year-round Youth Development Academy. The 21 volunteers each sat in front of a class with a Dr. Seuss book in hand, reading.
“I’m all about giving back to the community,” Luis said.
It wasn’t a chore for them. They didn’t just recite words on a page. They pronounced each “one fish, two fish” and “red fish, blue fish” with care. They held up each page so the students sitting on the carpet in front of them could see. They cared because they understood the kids in front of them.
Luis and a few other Avalon students attended Hawaiian when they were in elementary school. In Luis’ case, he wasn’t the model student. He said he knew the school counselor and principal by name by being in their offices so often.
As he grew up, his problems grew too. Eventually he was stuck in a gang affiliation and didn’t know how to get out of the life that had engulfed him. While he was reading to a class at Hawaiian, he remembered where he’d been.
“I was thinking, ‘Wow, that used to be me,'” he said.
Luis said the community around him was the only reason he escaped the gang he’d become trapped in. He credits his mentor, Danny—who stuck with Luis even after the program they met through was finished. Since then, Luis has broken away from gang culture, graduated from Avalon and is working with ShareFest to give back to the community that helped him.
“If your own people you see on a daily basis are telling you to believe in yourself, it starts to get to you, “Luis said.
Sometimes all it takes is reading a book.
Want to see more? Check out photos on flickr.
ShareFest Blog 
Hawaiian Avenue Elementary thanks each and every reader from Avalon High’s School’s Youth Development Academy for making a difference in the lives of countless children during this year’s celebration of Dr. Seuss’ birthday, “Read Across America.”
Thank you Susan for the opportunity. Keep us posted on how we can do more at Hawaiian Avenue.