June 20, 2025 — Everyone from toddlers to law enforcement to teachers to elected leaders filled the Washington Avenue Armory on June 14 for the third annual PEF Community Wellness Fair and ‘Reading Opens the World’ Book Giveaway, where they browsed a selection of free books and visited with vendors offering resources and information.
“Seeing the delight of the kids and the enthusiasm of the community makes this annual event well worth the time and effort,” said PEF President Wayne Spence. “Along with our international, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and their Reading Opens the World program, we were able to secure 20,000 free books, from Marvel to Disney to easy readers to books for teens. Our PEF Membership Benefits Program coordinated dozens of vendors who came armed with crucial information for attendees, and we brought in state fire personnel to educate youth on fire safety. We’ve seen this event grow each year.”
AFT’s Reading Opens the World initiative gives teachers the tools to help students learn to read; provides parents and caregivers fun and research-based tips to support literacy; forges connections between families, communities, and schools; and gives children and young people free books to read, love, and keep.
President Spence welcomed area legislators for brief opening remarks, including Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, who commended PEF members and their colleagues for their dedication.
“You are members of an incredible workforce,” she said. “We see you and we respect you and we admire what you do. You help our communities; you lift us up. Thank you for creating easy access for our families, to books, to asking questions about health care, to learning about incredible resources that are available here in New York State.”
Albany County Executive Dan McCoy, Assemblywoman Gabriella Romero and State Senator Patricia Fahy offered remarks as well, emphasizing the importance of public services and union advocacy for the needs of New Yorkers, and how crucial literacy is to success.
“I think it’s important that we continue to host these events,” said Senator Fahy, “that we continue to show that despite the cuts, despite Washington and the Trump Administration not understanding the importance of libraries, the importance of cultural institutions, the importance of government employees at the federal and state level, we will continue to do what we need to do here in New York State.”
