ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—This summer, the Tampa Bay Rays and Suncoast Credit Union will launch the 14th season of Reading with the Rays—Read Your Way to the Ballpark, an incentive-based reading program that encourages Pre-K to 12th- grade students to read for 24 hours and avoid summer learning loss. Traditionally an in-person program, Reading with the Rays will be an entirely digital program this summer where kids can participate at home.

Beginning this Sunday, May 30, parents and kids can download a digital game card at RaysBaseball.com/Reading to begin reading around the bases. Once complete, participants will submit their game card via email to [email protected] to receive two (2) tickets to a future home game. The program will also be accompanied by monthly online reading videos featuring Rays players that can be viewed at RaysBaseball.com/Reading and on Twitter (@RaysCommunity).

“Reading is a vital component to a child’s education and helps prepare them for a bright future,” said Executive Director of Suncoast Credit Union Foundation Cindy Helton. “Helping to provide students with educational tools is part of our DNA. We’re excited to see thousands of hours logged this summer.”

Reading with the Rays is made possible with the help of the Tampa Bay Times Newspaper in Education and public library systems in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Citrus, Polk, Pasco, Hernando, Sarasota and Charlotte counties. The launch includes a Reading with the Rays special insert in the digital version of the Tampa Bay Times and at RaysBaseball.com/Reading. The insert will also be sent directly to all public schools in the nine-county area to encourage parents and kids to download the digital game card.

Since the program’s inception in 2007, over 350,000 children across nine area counties have spent more than 2.5 million hours of their summer reading. For more information, visit RaysBaseball.com/Reading.

Suncoast Credit Union

Suncoast Credit Union is the largest credit union in the state of Florida, the 10th largest in the United States based on membership and the 10th largest in the United States based on its $13.5 billion in assets. Chartered in 1934 as Hillsborough County Teachers Credit Union, Suncoast Credit Union currently operates 74 full-service branches and serves more than 942,000 members in the following 39 Florida counties: Alachua, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Gilchrist, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter and Volusia. Since its founding in 1990, the Suncoast Credit Union Foundation has raised and donated more than $32 million to organizations and initiatives that support the health, education and emotional well-being of children in the communities that the credit union serves. For more information, visit suncoastcreditunion.com or follow on social media at Facebook.com/SuncoastCreditUnion, LinkedIn.com/company/SuncoastCreditUnion, Twitter.com/SuncoastCU or Instagram.com/SuncoastCreditUnion.

The Rays Baseball Foundation

The Rays Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization and the official charity of the Tampa Bay Rays, is dedicated to improving the lives of those in need within our community, focusing primarily on education, youth development, wellness and social responsibility. Key contributors to the Foundation include Rays owners, players, corporate partners, fans and employees.