By William Moore
Daily Journal
TUPELO – By reading more books, members of one Tupelo Boys & Girls Club will get to play more video games.
The Haven Acres clubhouse will be participating in “Game on for Literacy,” the platform of Miss New South Hannah Whitlock, who will compete for Miss Mississippi this June. She has been promoting reading since she was a freshman at North Pontotoc High School.
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Miss New South Hannah Whitlock of Pontotoc spends some time reading books to a class at the Haven Acres Boys & Girls Club as part of a project she is working on to get children to read more books.
“I started this when I was in high school working with day cares,” said Whitlock, a 21-year-old junior at Mississippi State University. “I still read at schools and tutor reading three days a week.
“But to get them interested in reading, I knew we needed an incentive – and that’s where the video games come in. For every 25 books they read, they will get 30 minutes in the Game Truck, up to two hours.”
The Game Truck is a customized trailer with multiple game systems and platforms allowing up to 16 players at a time on the four widescreen monitors. In addition to speakers in front and behind the players, the seats vibrate along with the game’s action.