The Moonshot Moment Rocket Heads to Oxford on Thursday, June 22.

OXFORD, Miss. – The Lafayette County and Oxford Public Library will host the Moonshot Moment Rocket—a cross-country campaign to support the efforts of Grade-Level Reading (GLR) Organizations—on Thursday, June 22.

Community members are invited to visit the Rocket on June 22 from noon to 2 p.m.

The Moonshot Moment initiative is a collaborative campaign with The Learning Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building innovative and collaborative solutions to help children learn to read.

“We hope this visit will help raise awareness about the importance of reading and community members coming together for this important cause,” said Ashley Parker Sheils, director of the Mississippi Campaign for Grade-Level Reading.

The initiative emerged from The Learning Alliance’s goal of 90 percent of all third-graders reading on grade level. Right now only 35 percent of American children are reading proficiently by third grade, leaving them with only a 1 in 6 chance of catching up.

While the Moonshot Moment Rocket is returning from Grade-Level Reading Week in Denver, Colorado, it will be visiting six GLR Pacesetter Award-Winning Communities, including Oxford. During the Rocket’s time in Oxford, it will kickoff the “Voices: A Community Tapestry of Stories” national campaign for the Oxford area.

The “Voices” project is an arts-enriched literacy community connection experience designed to make early literacy and grade-level reading a national priority. The project will collect stories of the Oxford community, and then weave them together in a large tapestry that will serve as a moving art installation.

For more information about the Mississippi Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, visit www.msgradelevelreading.com or email Ashley Sheils, Director at msglreading@gmail.com.