Sixers’ Jabari Walker promotes reading at South Philly elementary school: ‘It is powerful to read’
Walker showed up as a guest reader to Stephen Girard Elementary School students as part of the Books & Basketball program through a partnership with Morgan & Morgan and the Sixers.
Students filled Stephen Girard Elementary school’s auditorium in South Philly for a pep rally presented by the 76ers and Morgan & Morgan Law Firm on Thursday afternoon to promote reading among the youth.
After a dance party with students to start the assembly, 200 children were treated to a surprise when Sixers forward Jabari Walker showed up as a guest reader to read Dog Breath: The Horrible Trouble with Hally Tosis.
Walker and Sixers in-arena host, Lee Farrell, hosted a Q&A to discuss the importance of reading for the students.
“I’m an athlete, and I lift every day to get stronger,” Walker told the students. “The brain is a muscle, so you have to train it every day. You have to get smarter.”
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Morgan & Morgan and the Sixers partnered last season and will do so again for the 2026-27 season for the Books & Basketball program, which included the Boards for Books. Morgan & Morgan donates $7.60 for every rebound the Sixers had during the season.
A $15,000 donation was presented to the school for its library and reading program, while a $12,192 donation was made to BookSmiles, an organization that collects and distributes books to promote childhood literacy. The $27,000 total donation for the over 3,500 rebounds the Sixers had during the 2025-26 season is expected to equate over 20,000 books for students in the Philadelphia area.
Hannah Molitoris, an attorney with Morgan & Morgan, said it’s especially important to get the next generation excited about reading because of the access they have to technology and social media.
“Whereas many people grew up with books in their hands, we see a lot of younger people these days growing up with cellphones and iPads in their hand,” Molitoris said. “So, to get a younger generation excited about reading and the benefits of reading will only serve all of us in the future.”
Having an athlete like Walker there to further the message only helped.
“I think that there is a misconception that if you like to read and you’re an avid reader, then that means that you’re a loser or a nerd,” Molitoris said. “I think hearing someone like Mr. Walker tell these children that it is OK and it is strong and it is powerful to read and to like to read, it’s like your hero telling you that it’s OK to be yourself.”
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Through BookSmiles, each child left the assembly with a free book and bookmark, which Walker helped hand out as they exited the auditorium. The students also received Basketball & Books T-shirts before the pep rally.
Although Walker said he’s unsure if he would have shared the same excitement as the students over reading when he was their age, he’s become “super passionate about” as an adult and appreciates how the program translates results on the court to a positive outcome for kids in the area, giving him “extra motivation.” Walker said he currently prefers the self-help genre and books that teach financial literacy, but he related to the students over his love for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books.
Being able to see the students’ excitement in person and make this connection face-to-face is something that Walker said made the experience “even more special.”
“They could watch a video or this could be over Zoom, but I don’t think it hits the same,” Walker said. “For me to take my time and come here, I think it rubs off, and they understand that. So now they all have a personal connection with me, and I’m glad.”
