With Christmas gifts being on every child’s mind this time of year, the members of Reading is Fundamental wanted to give the children the best gift they could  —knowledge.

The Zeta Eta Omega Chapter and Women and Youth Service Center of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., in collaboration with the Dallas County Commission, Selma City Council and AmeriCorps, sponsored the Reading is Fundamental breakfast with Santa Saturday. Kids were invited to have breakfast, play games and take home their very own book.

“Today we are giving children the opportunity to understand the importance of books,” said Jacinta Thrash-Bright, Reading is Fundamental Coordinator. “As a service project, we are passing books out as we do every year to children.”

Children had a colorful breakfast with pink grits, ham, and green eggs representing the colors of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

They also had the opportunity to meet Santa and pick out a book that they could take home.

“With reading you can do almost anything,” Thrash-Bright said. “Your imagination grows, your automaticity grows, your fluency and all the things comprehension.”

Thrash-Bright said the books were given to the children as gifts, but that the real gift is the knowledge that they will gain from them.

“By getting them interested in books, it helps their comprehension … to grow and help them to be better in school and whatever things they encounter in the world,” she said.

“Reading is everywhere, so we want them to be aware of that and understand that reading is a very important factor of life.”

Eudarricka Tate, a fifth grader at Meadowview Elementary, said she had a lot of fun at the event, and she was excited to take home a new book.

“They had us all types of different books and they were fictional and non-fictional,” Tate said. “We talked to Santa and they gave us breakfast which was really good.”

Tate picked out a book that was about a young girl becoming principal for the day, and said that receiving the book was her favorite part of the event.

“[The book] looked interesting, and it looked unique,” Tate said. “It was my favorite part because not a lot of people give out books, and they’re giving us a chance to actually read. It’s about reading, so it’s giving us a chance to learn more.”

The children were excited to get a new book, and the adults looked just as happy.

“There’s no greater joy than seeing the children developing the love of books,” Thrash-Bright said. “Without reading, you wouldn’t have knowledge. Reading takes you many fun places.”

Brenda Obomanu, Selma City Schools board member, said that helping out with this event each year is a great way to give back to the community.

“We do this every year because we feel that reading opens doors for our children, and we understand that knowledge is power,” Obomanu said.  “We try to equip our children with knowledge so they can go out into this … society and have a successful life.”