The Mayor’s Youth Assistance Program is developing through city leadership and local advocates, and will officially launch in the fall of 2024.
“We are in the tree-planting phase to invest in our next generation of leaders through the Mayor’s Youth Assistance Program. Five, ten, fifteen years from now, if the city is really locked in and focused on education, Marion will become a city with a stronger workforce, leading to less crime, and will become one of the best places to live, work, and play in the state of Indiana. It is by far the greatest thing we can do for our city.” — Mayor Ronald Morrell, Jr.
In February of 2024, the City launched its first phase, Marion Reads.
Marion Reads
This campaign aims to improve Marion’s literacy rate through partnering with Marion Community Schools and other select organizations. The program serves to encourage citizens to volunteer their time to read to children through as many avenues as possible.
Below are some captured moments from Mayor Ronald Morrell, Jr.‘s tour around local elementary schools, reading to the children, Ron’s Big Mission, an inspirational book about an African American boy with big dreams to become a pilot, and the breakthrough he made when taking a stand at his local library to obtain a library card during the late 1950s, a time of racial segregation. The book, launched by the City of Marion in coordination with Black History Month, was based on true events leading the success of Ron McNair who later became a scientist and famous astronaut.
Stay tuned for more Marion Reads initiatives, and be sure to post, tag us at @CityofMarionIN, and use the hashtag #MarionReads in any initiative you begin or are already doing to read to our youth.
If you would like to be involved or offer support in any way, please email City Development Director Dawn Conwell at dconwell@cityofmarion.in.gov.