Reading & Robes
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NV Energy Foundation grants $25,000 for Reading & Robes™

RENO, NV (August 17, 2021) – The NV Energy Foundation has awarded The National Judicial College a $25,000 grant to support the College’s Reading & Robes™ youth program.

Begun in 2019, Reading & Robes™ features judges, wearing their robes, teaching children from disadvantaged backgrounds about the judiciary and civic responsibilities. Judges also share their love of reading. To date, more than a thousand children in 17 states have participated in the program.

This is the second grant to Reading & Robes™ from the NV Energy Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Nevada’s major electric utility.

“NV Energy is proud to support efforts like this that make the communities we serve stronger, and I know firsthand about the quality of NJC programs,” said Brandon Barkhuff, NV Energy vice president and general counsel and a recent addition to the NJC Board of Trustees.

NJC President Benes Aldana thanked the company for its support.

“Our mission is to make the world a more just place, and civics education is a necessary element of that. I can’t think of a better way to engage tomorrow’s decision-makers about the rule of law and constitutional democracy. As we’re seeing from their eagerness to participate, many judges and philanthropic groups agree.”

Children ranging in age from elementary to high school participate in Reading & Robes™, either through their school or via youth organizations such as Boys & Girls Clubs. The presentations typically take place in local courtrooms or in the model courtroom at the judicial college’s headquarters on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno. The College provides lunch and an assortment of take-home items, including autographed copies of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s autobiographical books for young readers and NJC logo backpacks.

Contact: Ed Cohen, Director of Communications/Marketing egcohen@judges.org, 775-327-8285 or 574-386-8915 (cell)

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