BUSINESSES SUPPORT YELL

Reading is a critical skill.

Two former teachers, now involved in marketing and public relations, agree that reading is needed in any industrial and commercial environments as well as everyday life.

"Reading has always been the joy of my life," said Mary Spell, director of marketing at St. Francis Medical Center, and a former teacher. "It has been a part of my life so long I can't remember ever not reading."

"Reading is such pleasure," said Nancy Bray, director of marketing and public relations for Southeast Missouri Hospital. "Being a former English and journalism instructor, I realize the great importance of reading. We encourage it at every opportunity at the hospital. We don't want to see reading become a lost art."

St. Francis Medical Center and Southeast Missouri Hospital are two of three "Champion" sponsors of YELL, a program designed to promote literacy.

The third "Champion" sponsor is the JCPenney Co. at West Park Mall.

"We're concerned about education," said Harry Rediger, manager of JCPenney. "With education as a priority, one of the first things you think about is literacy and learning through reading ... that's where it all begins."

Rediger, a member of the Cape Girardeau Public Schools Board of Education, added that the YELL program was a "great local promotion and opportunity to increase the percentage of literacy in the nation.

YELL is an acronym for Youth Education Literacy and Learning, a joint project to promote literacy sponsored by the Southeast Missourian and Area Wide United Way. This is the seventh year for the project.

YELL was initiated in 1991. Over the past four years, 10,000 YELL papers have been printed and sold each year, with funds designated for literacy projects throughout the area.

Surprisingly, more than a million Americans between the ages of 12 and 17 can't read, and another 30 million Americans, including adults, read so poorly their day-to-day lifestyle suffers.

Nationally, the figures get even scarier. There are as may as 780 million in the world who can't read or write. In some foreign countries, as many as 80 percent of the population is illiterate.

"Reading is important," said Bray, "and we want to preserve the need for reading and good reading habits. Being a big business, with more than 1,600 employees, we see the need for reading and writing as we interview people."

Reading is the key to information. Bray said, "And information is a key to good health."

Spell, who taught a number of years, said reading has allowed her to visit and learn about many places.

"I have visited the most magical places through books," she said. "We are big supporters for the YELL program and other programs which help children read, for pleasure and information."

"Reading is so important," said Dennis Marchi, manager of Schnucks Food and Drug, 19 S. Kingshighway.

Everything is tied into reading, added Marchi, who was a member of a committee that developed the YELL program in 1991 to encourage and aid reading in the Cape Girardeau area.

Marchi and Schnucks, along with a number of other businesses, have joined the Southeast Missourian and Area United Way in the support of the YELL program.

"Everything is tied into reading, and it scares me seeing so many people who don't know how to read," said Marchi.

Most YELL sponsors, ranging from "Supporters" to "Champions," participate in the program. Many employees of various sponsors can be found on street corners selling YELL newspapers. Sponsor categories include Champion, Patron, Sponsor, Friend and Supporter.