The Orlando Magic and Magic Players Team Up with OCPS to Host 3,550+ Orange County Students at Kia Center for Pick, Read & Roll Reading Program

The Orlando Magic and Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) picked the perfect game plan to help students roll into a new school year. The Magic and OCPS rolled out the Pick, Read & Roll program in October of 2019 to incentivize local youth to improve their reading skills.
 
This year, the program will provide 3,400 fourth grade students from low-income, Title 1 schools in Orange County the opportunity to attend Pick, Read & Roll at Kia Center featuring Magic players. In addition, approximately 150 fifth graders who are the most-improved readers from these schools will be recognized during the event for their achievements.  
 
According to Orange County Public Schools, following the inaugural event, students at the participating Title I schools achieved a 30 percent increase in their reading scores compared to students at similar schools that did not participate. This also surpassed the average increase of all other schools.
 
The annual program rewards those fifth-grade students with the greatest reading improvements in the previous school year the opportunity to attend an exclusive kids-only event featuring Magic players at Kia Center. The program recognizes the growth and improvements of each student’s reading skills over the course of the 2024-25 school year. The fourth-grade students in attendance can cheer on the fifth graders while being inspired to work hard to achieve their own reading success.

The Magic's Pick, Read & Roll adds another dimension to community outreach for an organization that’s dedicated to giving back to Central Florida. Recently, the team announced $1.6 million in grants that will be distributed to the local community through the Magic’s charitable arm, the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation (OMYF), which assists at-risk youth in Central Florida. This marks the 18^th time the team has distributed at least $1 million to the community with the Magic granting more than $31 million over the past 36 years to local nonprofits through OMYF. Overall, on an annual basis the Magic give more than $2 million to the local community by way of sponsorships of events, donated tickets, autographed merchandise and grants and the team's community relations programs impact an estimated 100,000 kids each year.