By Chelsea Vance | The Selma Times-Journal

Reading is Fundamental held its annual Breakfast with Santa on Saturday, feeding a hearty breakfast to and entertaining more than 100 children.

The two main sponsors of the event were the Zeta Eta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., and Women and Youth Services Center of Selma. The event was also in collaboration with the city of Selma and Dallas County Commission.

Children had a chance to meet their favorite Sesame Street characters along with Selma Fire Department’s mascot Sparky the Fire Dog and, of course, Santa Claus.

The menu consisted of grits, eggs, ham, fruit, pastries and juice. Members of Alpha Kappa Alpha read books to the children. Every child went home with a free book from the event.

RIF Coordinator Nancy Sewell said it’s important to reinforce the importance of reading.

“People are so busy pushing gifts to children at Christmas time. Very few people are putting books under the tree and encouraging and motivating their children to read,” Sewell said.

Chairwoman of the Women and Youth Center Dr. Verdell Lett-Dawson also feels that it is crucial that children know how to read and is serious about doing her part in spreading that message.

“We are all about promoting reading. We know that if one cannot read, they cannot be successful in life. We are fostering success,”

Lett-Dawson said.

Australia McQueen was one of the children in the crowd who smiled through the entire event. She is a 6-year-old student of Clark Elementary School.

“My favorite part was being able to see Santa and Sparky the Fire Dog,” McQueen said.

Culturama is a mentoring group under the Zeta Eta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha. They sang carols throughout the event.

RIF hosts an event for the community three to four times a year. For more information on RIF and its events, contact Sewell at 875-2481.