Every January, in honor of Martin Luther King Day, the Muhlenberg men’s and women’s basketball teams take a short drive to Jefferson Elementary School in downtown Allentown to participate in the “Dream To Read” program.

The event is organized by the Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley with the cooperation of Muhlenberg and the elementary school. Each year the children receive t-shirts to commemorate the event.

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For the first half of the event, the players read a book to the children, who ranged in age from first to third grade. The book was about the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, and during and after the story, they asked the youngsters questions about civil rights and racial issues.

“With first graders, difficult topics like segregation and racism aren’t things that they face on a daily basis, but that they will be faced with in the future,” said junior Erin Laney, an American studies major who will graduate with a certification to teach fourth through eighth grade. “It’s hard to introduce those topics without them having prior knowledge.”

Laney felt that her background in education helped with getting the youngsters to raise questions about the issues.

“First-graders are so fun,” she said of working with a younger age group than that for which she will be certified to teach. “You can joke around with them and laugh, and it’s really carefree in the classroom.”

After the reading sessions, the players asked the children to think about and envision their own dreams. The children then gathered around their desks to draw their dreams while the players talked to them and had them explain their drawings.

“It’s a chance for us to come and get a laugh and give back to the community,” added Laney. “Jefferson Elementary and Muhlenberg have always had a great connection and we see these kids a lot between the Jefferson Field Day and other events that occur on campus.

“It’s great to have that connection and do something other than basketball during the two weeks we’re here before classes start.”