As part of the Rams Reader Team, Dré Bly read to children at Danforth Elementary on March 20 to promote Family Reading Night. Bly also visited with students about the importance of reading and getting an education.

Bly was a second round selection (41st overall) by the Rams in the 1999 NFL Draft. Dre’ comes from a family of school teachers. His father, Donald, and mother, Gloria, both teach fifth grade in Chesapeake, Va. Bly’s sister, Donna, is a biology teacher at Maury High School, also in Chesapeake.

Bly missed a mini-camp during his rookie season of 1999 to return to the University of North Carolina and attend graduation ceremonies, where he earned a degree in exercise and sports science.

The Rams Reader Team began in 1996 to use the influence that professional athletes have on children to increase their excitement about reading. The Rams Reader Team, a program that targets kids from kindergarten to high school, encourages young readers to visit their local library, sign up to be a Rams Reader Team member, and choose a book from the reading list created from suggestions from the St. Louis Rams football players, a cheerleader, head coach Mike Martz and team owner Georgia Frontiere.

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