Read To Succeed gave Rutherford County the perfect excuse to enjoy some peace and quiet this week.

And although the fifth annual UNPLUG & Read week has just “officially” ended, organizers hope a small part of every week will have folks unplugged from electronics and reading.

UNPLUG & Read, celebrated this year from Feb. 13-19, is one of the many ways Read To Succeed promotes its mission to foster the importance of literacy in Rutherford County.

To participate, families, organizations, schools and businesses chose a time during the week to turn off all electronic devices and read a book.

This year, readers pledged the hours that they would turn off the TV and pick up a book during the week, and more than 400 hours of unplugged reading was pledged.

“Our new web design, created by Read To Succeed VISTA Americorps volunteer, Sarah Porterfield, is getting a lot of attention,” says Read To Succeed Executive Director Ronni Shaw.  “On the UNPLUG page, participants could pledge the hours they expected to read during the week and even download an UNPLUG & Read logo.  Lots of these showed up on Facebook.  I like to think folks posted the I Pledge to UNPLUG logo on their Facebook page, and then turned off their computers to go read.”

Murfreesboro City and Rutherford County schools got into the spirit.  At Mitchell Neilson Primary, second grade teachers Gayle Porterfield and Jesse Holland brought their classes outside to enjoy the beautiful weather and to read a book.

The Discovery Center of Murfree Spring celebrated UNPLUG & Read on Feb. 12 with a Mom and Me and a Cup of Tea event, in collaboration with Murfreesboro City Schools. Mothers and their children were invited to a tea party where Murfreesboro City Schools Director Linda Gilbert served tea and the whole group read a story.

Shaw said participation in UNPLUG & Read grows each year.

“We are hearing of more folks each year making UNPLUG something special in their home, commenting on the UNPLUG billboards around town or talking on Facebook about what they are reading during their unplugged time,” Shaw says. “It’s always nice to have an excuse to read.”


Organizers hope the community will carry the message of the event, the importance of reading, throughout the year, and remember to always make time to pick up a book.

For more information on UNPLUG & Read! and to find out about more Read To Succeed events in Rutherford County, please visit readtosucceed.org.