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Sarasota News Leader November 15, 2013 Page 100 Here's how Read to Me works: Volunteers go into the jails and record inmates reading stories for their children. The Foundation then burns the audio files to CDs, purchases the books and invites the inmates' kids to an event at Selby Public Library, where they will be presented with the books and recordings. The first Selby gathering will take place this Saturday, Nov. 16, from 1 to 3 p.m. In addition to working with the jail and the library, Norris reached out to Sarasota County Area Transit to make sure the kids will be able to get to Saturday's event for free. He has also picked up major corporate sponsors such as HealthSouth, which is donating the recording equipment. The goal of Read to Me is to reduce recidivism rates for the adults, maintain family bonds during trying times and increase literacy among the children, which will make them much less likely to end up incarcerated in the future. Around 25 volunteers made the recordings during the month of November, working with a total of 75 inmates. Nobody knows how many children will show up Saturday, but if one inmate says he or she wants to break the recidivism cycle or one kid says he doesn't want to end up in jail, Norris tells The Sarasota News Leader he'll consider the program a success. The Sarasota County Jail is on Ringling Boulevard in downtown Sarasota. File photo have them. He has meetings lined up with major potential sponsors and says the Florida Sheriffs Association is interested. He'll even be talking with a Sesame Street sponsor early next year. "Where that goes? I don't know," he says. But he's optimistic the Foundation will hit its Even before the first local event, Norris is goals. planning to make it a quarterly one, and he wants to take the program statewide. The Even if it doesn't, it's already had an impact. Foundation's budget runs to $75,000 for 2014, Norris says the inmates' recordings are unbewhen its goal is to reach five to 10 jails. It lievably emotional. "It's incredible stuff; it's wants to be statewide by 2017. That means just incredible," he says. "They all realize, all more than just Read to Me. Norris also wants of a sudden, 'I don't have access to my chilto implement the glasses program and the dren.' And this is a way to keep the family book donation program in areas that don't unit together." %