09/27/2026
McAlester High School FCCLA members spent time with the preschoolers of Karla Brock Academy on Friday doing a variety of fun activities to promote the importance of reading and to celebrate “Give Like Dolly Day”. From the Reading ROCKS! Imagination Library activity to writing in shaving cream to a rousing match of Hullabaloo and calming story time snuggles, teenagers and preschoolers embraced the legacy of Dolly Parton’s passion for early literacy. FCCLA members worked hard to plan several engaging activities for their preschool pals, and they showed up prepared to get the littles excited about reading! One of the favorite activities of the day was helping KBA kiddos with their “Reading ROCKS”, generously sponsored by the Jake and Taylor Wood family, who shared “We were blessed to sponsor the children at Karla Brock Academy and their Reading Rocks project. Our four boys have loved receiving Dolly books each month and we want every child in our community to get to experience the joy of celebrating kindness and falling in love with reading!" While planning the event, high school students got to experience “story time” again with an inspired reading of the Mem Fox classic, “Time for Bed”, where they learned the importance of inflection, body language, cadence, and enthusiasm when reading to babies and toddlers. They put those skills to work today with some “story time snuggles”, and a little “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”., by Eric Carle. The high school kids loved hearing the preschoolers’ gasps at the end of the story!
Oklahoma FCCLA, the LARGEST delegation in the country, has determined its outreach project for the 2026-2027 school year to be “Readers Are Leaders”. From the Oklahoma FCCLA website, “Literacy is essential for expanding human capabilities, as it directly correlates with greater economic opportunity, better health outcomes, and increased civic participation.
Our goals for this campaign include 50,000 books collected, $25,000 raised for the Imagination Library, 10,000 children/Oklahomans impacted, 500 guest readers recruited, and 400 literacy service projects completed!”
If you would like to support McAlester High School FCCLA in achieving these goals, we would love your support! We’ve already reached over 100 students, raised about $50 dollars (four children receiving books in the mail every month!), recruited 22 guest readers, and completed our first literacy outreach project! Cash donations are welcome and any FCCLA member would be happy to help! Or checks may be made payable to MHS FCCLA and given to any MHS FCCLA member or mailed to MHS FCCLA, Attn: Jennifer Strickland, 1 Buffalo Drive, McAlester, OK 74501. If you’d like to support our outreach in any other way, please feel free to contact us!
