Malcolm Mitchell is living a lif
e many kids only dream of as a professional football player in the NFL (National Football League), but the New England Patriot's Wide Receiver has achieved a dream that goes far beyond playing the sport he loves - he's also worked hard to be able to READ the books he loves.
"I know how it feels to struggle with reading," says Mitchell. "When I was a kid, it was all academic reading in school. Reading wasn't fun." It would have been very easy for Malcolm to forget about books, and just play the game he loves.
Yet, he had a desire to improve through practice. When he wasn't catching balls for the Georgia Bulldogs, you could find Malcolm in his other favorite spot - a book club! "If you think athletics is all you need to reach your full potential in life," says Mitchell, "you will be disappointed. Sports are only temporary. Knowledge will last forever."
Giving Back
Now he wants help others, specially kids who think they hate to read. Malcolm founded an organization called Read with Malcolm, and he even wrote a children's book called The Magician's Hat. A strong desire to read by itself won't help all kids reach the finish line, however. Some kids have big hurdles to overcome, challenges like dyslexia, learning disabilities or visual impairment. Mitchell didn't stop with only a physical copy of his book; he volunteered his time to record The Magician's Hat, in his own voice, for the non-profit Learning Ally, an organization that provides human-narrated audiobooks to kids who learn differently.
"For me, to be able to record an audiobook that will hopefully encourage kids to read is something I will forever cherish. Hopefully I can always be part of the Learning Ally family!"
Download The Magician's Hat, na
rrated by Malcolm himself, to your Learning Ally audiobook library today! Note to Learning Ally members, a promotional code to get a discounted physical copy of Malcolm's book will also be coming to your email soon.
See Mitchell's studio visit by clicking our Facebook Live video below:
Find out more about dyslexia and other print related disabilities by logging onto LearningAlly.org today. If you or a loved one have a certified print disability, we may be able to help give you access to a world of books with our library of over 82,000 human-narrated audiobooks, including textbooks. Read with Malcolm exists to help all children find a love of literacy. Check out their website and purchase Malcolm's book at ReadwithMalcolm.com.