Latham kicks off new Storytime Spotlight Series: Professionals Who Support YOUR Community

Since the beginning of April, Latham Centers has been hosting a Virtual Storytime on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings over Zoom. In May, many amazing influencers in the PWS community celebrated PWS Awareness Month with us during Storytime. In June, we have celebrated varied professions. Every one of our guest readers has an important role in the local community, and/or the field of Prader-Willi syndrome. June’s Storytime series began with professionals from the world of sports, non-profit human services, and non-profit pet services:   

Our week one reading started with a favorite student profession: the athlete. Bob Sweeney, former Boston Bruins Center and current Executive Director of the Boston Bruins Foundation, read S is for Stanley Cup: A Hockey Championship Alphabet by Michael Ulmer. The students (and many parents) were excited to see Bob and asked many questions. At the end, student Matthew led an apt mindfulness exercise: “Think about your favorite sports player…” A couple people, including Bob, shared that Ray Bork is ‘the best’. Bob said, “Ray always made me feel like I belonged and we’re still good friends!”

Midweek, Latham Centers’ own Anne McManus, President and CEO, read Shark Baby by Ann Downer. Anne represented the career of non-profit leadership, sharing inspiration from her 21+ years of work at Latham. Of course, when one thinks of a shark baby, one cannot help but think of that recently famous song, ‘Baby Shark.’ Anne asked Brittni to lead the group in singing a fantastic Zoom version of Baby Shark—background music and video included. Smiles, clapping, and laughter filled every frame on the Zoom portal! Check it out here.

Mairead Graf, Director of Development at the Animal Rescue League of Boston, finished off the week by reading A Pocketful of Pets by Jane Belk Moncure. Mairead works in our local Brewster Animal Rescue League (ARL) site, and under normal circumstances, Latham students visit this location regularly. If you ask the kids on campus their favorite hobby or dream job; many would say working with animals. They asked Mairead all sorts of questions and learned that at the Brewster ARL, they even have pigs! Latham’s Virtual Storytime coordinators noted, “Mairead made the kiddos’ day when she introduced them to her puppy Cocoa, who was a rescue from Brewster!”

Next week, we’ll feature our surprise guest readers (including a local political leader and a favorite librarian). We thank all of our community readers who join us on Virtual Storytime to make this a fun and exciting series for the children in our PWS community.