Pictured: Kaki France (center, back) with rocking readers Dylan, Marley and Presley Krumm

Pine View senior Mary Kathryn "Kaki" France has spent significant time on the pageant circuit, earning "Outstanding Teen" titles in the Miss Manatee (2018), Miss Largo (2019) and, most recently, the Miss Orlando pageants, among other honors.  Particular areas of focus for Kaki are education and early childhood literacy. She says, "I feel like education is the foundation of everything. When there's reading in the home, when you have a library at home, so many things can happen - it can catapult you to a great future!" To support these areas in our community, Kaki founded "Royalty for Reading," a platform through which she collects donated books - approximately 2,000 to date - and then distributes them to deserving children through organizations such as All Faiths Food Bank, Children First, Easter Seals, Girls Inc., United Way and more. She also does service work with the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, donating her time reading to students and speaking with parents about the importance of education and reading at home. Kaki will host a virtual live reading of one of her favorite childhood books, "Belinda and the Glass Slipper," on Thursday, August 27 at 10am. Free and no RSVP necessary.

Pictured: Kaki France (center, back) with rocking readers Dylan, Marley and Presley Krumm

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