The first International Reading Festival brought nearly 200 local elementary school students to USC, where they celebrated cultural diversity through literacy.

The children gathered in Founder’s Park Sept. 23, rotating among five tables set up to represent different geographic regions, including Africa, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. An additional table was set up with hands-on quilting and crafts projects.

The festival was a joint collaboration of the USC ReadersPlus program and Project Books and Blankies, a literacy organization founded by sophomore mechanical engineering major Robyn Strumpf at the age of 12.

Strumpf, an avid quilter, incorporated her hobby into the program as a way to inspire students to use their creativity while developing math and reading skills.

Volunteers from the ReadersPlus program were stationed at each table to read books from the region and guide the children through different reading-related activities. Each table was decorated with a storyboard full of pictures, maps and information about the region.

Making their way from one table to another, the youngsters answered trivia questions about the regions on passports they carried, designed by ReadersPlus volunteers. Prizes were awarded to children who answered all the questions correctly.

The first 85 participants left the event with a new backpack, and each left with an armful of books, including a hardback version of “My First Atlas,” courtesy of DK Publishing. Nearly everything at the festival was donated, Strumpf said. In addition to DK Publishing, she gathered donations from Nestle, Office Depot and the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation.

Strumpf said she would like to make this an annual event.

“The festival was a tremendous success,” she said. “It was wonderful working with all of the committed volunteers connected with both the USC ReadersPlus Program and Project Books and Blankies. I really believe we made a difference.”