You might know him as former Paralympian Michael Milton, but if you have ever been to Quizzic Alley in Fyshwick, you will definitely know him as Nearly Legless Mick.
Now, in collaboration with his wife Penelope and the team at Quizzic Alley, the official Harry Potter merchandise store will get behind children’s literacy and sponsor the 2020 MS Readathon.
Running across the month of August, children are encouraged to read as many books as they can while raising money for Multiple Sclerosis.
Nearly Legless Mick said the team could not wait to merge their love for the magical book series and children’s literacy to support the cause.
“One of the things Penni and I love about the theme is it is so booked based and it’s been such a rite of passage for many primary school kids to read their first big series of books,” he said.
“There are a lot of kids who are very passionate about it, so if we can run some trivia nights, work with MS Readathon to engage the kids and read the Harry Potter books, I think it is fantastic.”
The Australian event already has over 30,000 registrations this year and has raised over $700,000.
Nearly Legless Mick said the reading challenge couldn’t have come at a better time to encourage children to reengage with literature.
“I think with the COVID-19 lockdown and things like that, obviously there is an increased amount of screen-time because most of the schooling was online based,” he said.
“Then to switch them from a screen in the evenings and switch that into reading is particularly important at the moment.”
Throughout the course of the challenge, children will have plenty to look forward to with online resources and prizes to be won.
Nearly Legless Mick has even teamed up with the event and will hold a virtual reading of the Tales of Beedle and Bard on social media towards the end of July.
Quizzic Alley will also host a virtual trivia night towards the end of August for MS Readathon participants.
“If you’re an English teacher, it probably sounds like a comprehension test but if you’re a kid it’s trivia, and it’s fun, and it’s a great way to add on to associated activities around reading books,” Nearly Legless Mick said.
“The quiz is towards the end of August after they have had a chance to read a book or two and most of our questions will be based on The Philosopher’s Stone.”
Children can sign up to the MS Readathon through their school or online at msreadathon.org.au
You can visit the Quizzic Alley website here.
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