With summer of 2021 coming to an end, Quiet Storm Foundation has been working hard to continue providing different opportunities for our community’s youth as school starts back up again! In fact, as we were hosting our 18th Annual Hoops for Hope Basketball Camp on July 17th, we also had the great pleasure of being a part of the first ever Coast to Coast Children’s Book Expo.

Hosted by local elementary school teacher and self-published children’s book author, Shariece Williams, this event was designed to showcase several different children’s books while also emphasizing the importance of diverse literacy for children. Not only did the event feature a number of different self-published authors, but it also highlighted local vendors, youth performers, and even the North Las Vegas Police Department and Fire Department.

Since we are a local nonprofit organization who focuses on empowering youth – particularly in the educational realm – Shariece Williams reached out to see if the Quiet Storm Foundation would be interested in being a part of this event, giving us the chance to spread the word about who we are and all the work we do for the Las Vegas community. During the event, we had a featured table where we displayed information about Quiet Storm, also giving away free items such as key chains, wristbands, and bookmarks. In addition to all of this, we were fortunate enough to have one of our interns, Christina Cerrone, featured as the keynote speaker which allowed us to even further express the impact we constantly aim to have on this community and all the children in it.

At the end of the day, it was incredibly rewarding to see the kids getting so excited about reading and education. In fact, they even held a raffle where lucky winners were able to go home with baskets filled with different books! With the Coast to Coast Children’s Book Expo taking place on the heels of a global pandemic, it truly served as an important reminder that we must remain dedicated to creating different opportunities for our youth through even the toughest of times. It was such an honor to be able to represent the Quiet Storm Foundation at this event this summer, and we hope we are able to return again next year!